SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City police have arrested an 18-year-old they say was involved in a gang-related assault and hit-and-run. Nicholas Talon Maez was arrested on Monday and faces charges for rioting and robbery.
According to court documents, officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department were called to a hit-and-run incident at 11809 South Richards Street. When officers arrived, they found multiple people who were involved in the crash.
While investigating, Horizonte School staff approached the officers on the scene and reported that the individuals involved in the crash were also involved in an altercation captured on Horizonte School surveillance footage.
School staff showed police an image of the involved individuals and found they matched those at the scene of the accident.
When police spoke to the victim, he reported that he was in the parking lot of the school, sitting in a truck. That is when the victim states multiple individuals exited a different vehicle and began to kick and punch him.
The victim reported that he had $220 in cash in his pockets, which fell out during the assault. The victim told officers suspects told him, "give me your money," while punching and kicking him.
The victim got up and ran from the area but was chased by the suspects who again cornered him and assaulted him. Salt Lake City police say video corroborates the victim's account of the assault.
When police searched Maez, they say they located $260 in cash in his pants.
Detectives say they believe the assault was gang-related, as the victim was a documented Sureno member, and Maez and the other males involved in the beating are members of the Norteno Gang.
Nicholas Talon Maez is being held without bail.
