Jacqueline "Jacky" Nunez-Millan (KSL screenshot)
An 18-year-old man in Utah will spend at least two decades behind bars for the cold-blooded execution of his girlfriend earlier this year, shooting her in the head while she laid helpless and injured in the middle of the road.
Sixth District Court Judge Marvin D. Bagley on Monday ordered Fancisco Daniel Aguilar to serve a sentence of 25 years to life in prison for the slaying of 16-year-old Jacqueline "Jacky" Nunez-Milan, authorities announced.
Aguilar, who was 17 at the time of the shooting and turned 18 last week, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, and felony discharge of a firearm, as well as two counts of aggravated assault.
According to a press release from the Piute County Sheriff's Office, at about 9:57 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2023 PCSO deputies responded to a call regarding shots being fired on Doc Springs Road, which is located about 200 miles south of Salt Lake City. First responders arrived on the scene about 15 minutes later and located a 16-year-old female — later identified as Jacky — who was "lying in the middle of a dirt road" and had been fatally shot in the head. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
Prosecutors said that Aguilar and Jacky had been arguing when he drove her out to an area in Black Hill, Utah while armed with his father's 9mm handgun, Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL-TV reported. Jacky's friend, McKall Taylor, was worried and reportedly went out looking for Jacky that evening. Taylor found Jacky and Aguilar and when Jacky spotted the other car, she went running towards Taylor.
That's when Aguilar opened fire, hitting Jacky in the right leg and shattering her femur, KSL reported. Aguilar then fired several shots at Taylor, hitting her car several times and shattering multiple windows. Taylor drove away to avoid being killed and Aguilar approached an immobile Jacky and shot her in the head.
He was arrested about an hour later following a brief pursuit which ended when police used tire spikes to immobilize his vehicle.
During Monday's hearing, Jacky's sister, Rosa Nunez, told the court that Aguilar's actions resulted in a "life sentence of suffering" for her and her family, referring to him as "unforgivable and pure evil," per KSL.
Addressing the court, Aguilar said he brought his father's gun with him that night as a "scare tactic" and never intended to actually fire the weapon.
"My intention was not to use the weapon, that's what I'm saying your honor," he said when asked why he killed Jacky, according to KSL. "I acted stupidly and out of anger."
A perturbed Bagley reportedly responded rhetorically, asking Aguilar, "Is that the best you can do?"
The sheriff's office emphasized that because Aguilar was 17 at the time of the shooting, prosecutors were precluded from charging him with a capital offense and seeking the death penalty.
"Justice was done today in our county," Piute County Sheriff Marty Gleave said in a statement. "This has been an emotional case for this little county, and for all of the surrounding counties, as this 16-year-old girl was an athlete, a student, a friend and a sister and daughter who was loved by so many."
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