The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed a probable cause statement on Wednesday, July 22, charging Lauriano Robert Herrera, 31, with attempted aggravated murder in connection with the March 19 shooting near 4865 South in Kearns. Herrera was taken into custody on Friday, July 25, and is being held without bail.

The break came when officers in Sandy arrested a person identified in court documents as a member of a rival gang on an unrelated matter. Searching that person's vehicle, officers found handwritten papers that the probable cause statement describes as communications used to relay information between gang members inside corrections facilities and members on the outside.

Sandy officers handed the papers to Unified Police Department detectives. One sheet listed phone numbers next to gang monikers belonging to individuals the probable cause statement identifies as "shot-callers and other named leaders." One number traced back to Herrera.

Detectives then pulled communication records from the Utah Department of Corrections that confirmed Herrera's gang membership. Those records showed Herrera had been in contact with three previously arrested suspects before and after the March 19 shooting: Jose Gutierrez-Gonzalez, 28; Diego Cruz Soto, 18; and Angel Garcia Cortes, 20. Court documents indicate Herrera maintained continuous contact with Gutierrez-Gonzalez leading up to Gutierrez-Gonzalez's arrest in June.

The original shooting

The Unified Police Department responded to the area of 4865 South in Kearns around 1:30 p.m. on March 19 and found a man with gunshot wounds. According to court documents, the victim told detectives he was walking along 4865 South when two men approached and asked whether he "banged," a term investigators describe as a check for gang affiliation.

When the victim said he was not in a gang, the two men opened fire and then stabbed him multiple times. He told officers he believed the suspects were members of Dog Town, a criminal street gang affiliated with the Sureños.

Investigators identified the getaway truck on March 23 using license plate reader data. The truck was registered to Gutierrez-Gonzalez, an alleged Dog Town member. All three initial suspects were arrested in June with help from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Four now charged

With Herrera's arrest, four people face charges in connection with the shooting. No court date has been announced.

Residents with information can submit anonymous tips through Salt Lake Valley Crime Stoppers at 801-799-8477.