Inset: Ivan Rodriguez, one of the victims who was killed at the Utah house party in August 2021 (GoFundMe). Background: The area in Utah where the party took place (Google Maps).
A 24-year-old man in Utah may spend the rest of his days behind bars for fatally shooting two people at a party after he overheard them "talking negative" about his friends.
Third District Judge Heather Brereton on Tuesday ordered Patrocinio Perez to serve 45 years to life in prison for the "horrendous" and "senseless" slayings of Ivan Valenzuela, 18, and Juan Valentine Rodriguez, 19.
Brereton imposed 15 years to life for each of the two aggravated murder convictions, along with five years to life for each of two counts of felony discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury and another five years to life for felony discharge of a firearm. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
The convictions stem from an Aug. 15, 2021, house party in Magna where Rodriguez and Valenzuela were killed and a 17-year-old girl, Autumn Baker, was wounded. Perez pleaded guilty as part of a deal under which prosecutors agreed to recommend 15 years to life rather than 25 years to life on each aggravated murder count, Salt Lake City NBC affiliate KSL reported. Other charges, including obstruction of justice and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, were dismissed as part of the agreement.
The investigation focused on Perez after authorities received reports that he had been telling other people, including documented gang members, that he was responsible for the shooting. Call records, Uber data and Snapchat location information placed him near the home around the time of the killings, according to Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX.
He also reportedly discussed the shooting on social media, posting about "upgrading his belt" and bragging that he had "ultra lethal" ammunition.
After his arrest, Perez told investigators he had received the address from a girl on Snapchat and gotten a ride to the party from a friend. He said he entered the residence and shot Rodriguez and Valenzuela before fleeing the scene.
Perez also told investigators why he opened fire, saying he believed the two men "were talking negative about his homies."
During the hearing, Salt Lake County Deputy District Attorney Vincent Meister said that Perez approached the two victims without warning by crawling up the stairs of the home before shooting Rodriguez at close range and then firing into the back of Valenzuela's head.
"There was no warning," Meister said, per KSL. "It was literally an ambush of both of these individuals."
Meister said the violence also traumatized the dozens of young people who were at the party, describing how the victims were "randomly executed in their presence that night."
In a victim impact statement read during the hearing, Baker described the aftermath of the shooting that left her with a bullet wound to the arm. She reportedly said she had been a fun and outgoing person before the shooting, but that everything changed "in six minutes." She now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has difficulty sleeping and dealing with loud noises.
"He took two innocent souls from this world, and half of mine," she wrote in the letter. "He left Ivan, Juan and me to die."
Valenzuela's sister also spoke about the loss of her brother, saying she wanted him remembered as more than a victim of gun violence. She told the court that her family continues to feel the absence of Valenzuela and struggles to experience happiness without feeling guilty that he is gone.
Given the chance to speak, Perez apologized to the victims' families.
"I know what I did, it was wrong, but I just want to apologize, that's it," he reportedly said.
His attorney, Rudy Bautista, said Perez has come to understand "the stupidity of his ways" and now appreciates the value of life.
Brereton, however, made clear that she viewed the plea agreement as unusually favorable to Perez.
Before sentencing him, the judge called the deal a "gift," noting that he had killed two people, wounded another and exposed numerous others at the party to the horrors of gun violence. She also emphasized the continuing effects the murders had on those who witnessed them.
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