Teen admits to murder in deadly shooting at Weber County street racing competition

OGDEN — A teenage boy has admitted to a count of murder in the Aug. 31 shooting incident last year during a street racing competition that left a man dead and has been placed in a juvenile detention facility.

The teen, 15 at the time of the incident but now 16, “admitted to murder and possession of firearm by (category I) restricted person. He was sentenced on April 28 to secure confinement until age 25,” Weber County Attorney Chris Allred said in a statement.

Allred didn’t provide additional information, but partially redacted 2nd District Juvenile Court records in the teen’s case, supplied Monday by the Utah State Courts, provide some details. KSL isn’t naming the teen, who prosecutors had unsuccessfully sought to try as an adult.

According to the records, the teen was adjudicated in the matter after admitting to murder, a first-degree felony, and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a second-degree felony, on March 24. Three other charges were dismissed — a second count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony, according to the documents.

Judge Tasha Williams handed down the disposition on April 28. The teen is one of three suspected gunmen in the incident last year in western Weber County that left Jesus Cuadras Garcia, 22, dead and two others with injuries.

“The court finds that placement in secure care is necessary because the minor poses a risk of harm to others and reasonable efforts have been made to prevent separation of the minor from his home and said efforts have failed. Continuation in the home would be contrary to the welfare of the minor and the community,” court documents read, referencing the judge’s order placing the teen in a juvenile detention facility.

As allowed in state law, Williams extended the court’s jurisdiction in the case until the teen is 25 years old, beyond the age of 21, when jurisdiction generally ends in juvenile cases. The teen was previously adjudicated for aggravated assault in a November 2023 incident, when he fired a gun at another juvenile at an Ogden arcade and entertainment center. He was 13-years-old at the time.

According to court documents in the varied cases that came out of last year’s shooting, two females were fighting when at least three people, including the teen, started firing weapons. The street racing competition at 9350 West just north of 900 South in rural Weber County had drawn a large, boisterous crowd.

“Two eyewitnesses who said they were in the immediate area and witnessed the shooting recognized (the teen) as the shooter. There was another eyewitness who gave a physical description of the shooter that matched (the teen’s) description,” original charging papers read.

A Weber County judge last May sentenced Michael Robles Gaisbauer, 19, to a term of one to five years in prison on a reduced charge of attempted manslaughter, a third-degree felony, in the matter. He was also sentenced to eight terms of three to five years in prison for eight counts of felony discharge of a weapon, a third-degree felony. The felony discharge sentences were ordered to run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the manslaughter sentence, resulting in potential prison time of between four and 10 years.

Christian Elias Antonio Ruiz, 18, the third suspected gunman in the case, is charged with murder, a first-degree felony; two counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony; and three other counts in the matter. His case is still winding through the legal system, and he’s next to appear in court on Aug. 11.