DRAPER, Utah — The Salt Lake County District Attorney's office on Friday filed charges in a shooting at a Draper Airbnb that left two people dead.
On Friday morning, the DA's office filed charges against Ashtyn Ortega and Daniel Martinez for their alleged participation in the shootings earlier this month.
Ashtyn Ortega was charged with two counts of murder, three counts of purchase, transfer, possession, or use of a firearm by a restricted person, and one count of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.
Daniel Martinez was charged with two counts of aggravated murder.
The shooting happened just before 3 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, in the area of Vista Way and Cranberry Hill Drive, where a party had been taking place at a home rented through Airbnb.
According to Draper City Police officials, the party had begun to wind down and people were starting to leave when an argument broke out between two groups that began throwing beer bottles at one another.
A male suspect pulled out a handgun and fired several shots, hitting two people. One victim died on the scene, while the other was transported to Intermountain Medical Center in Murray in critical condition where they later succumbed to their injuries.
Sebastian Arismendi was at the party and told FOX 13 News, that as he and his friends were leaving the party he heard a gunshot. He said he was able to protect his friends, telling them to duck and run to their truck. However, Arismendi says a person just footsteps away from him got hit by the bullet.
"The guy was right behind me and I couldn't pull him down," he said.
A neighbor FOX 13 News spoke with said the owner of the home moved out two weeks before the shooting and then listed it on Airbnb.
According to probable cause documents released by the DA's office Friday, when officers arrived on the scene, they found Austin Powell dead, lying near a 2020 Tesla with bullet holes in the windshield and other parts of the car. The second victim, Jonathan Fuentes, was found with a gunshot wound to the head but he was alive and later died at Intermountain Hospital in Murray.
Detectives spoke with the manager of the Airbnb who went to the house just before the shooting to shut down the party. He provided police with video footage from a Ring doorbell camera of the party that captured about 10 loud bangs which appeared to be gunshots.
A witness also recorded the shooting on his phone which was provided to detectives that showed the shooter "skipped or jumped around" as he fired off rounds toward the direction where the Tesla was parked.
Multiple 9mm bullet casings, 9mm full metal jacket bullets, and an empty tan-colored 9mm Glock magazine were collected on the scene by investigators.
According to the document, a confidential informant with knowledge of the shooting later identified the shooter as Daniel Martinez, 18, and said that he goes by the nickname Felon.
The informant told police there was an argument between Martinez and the Tesla driver, Austin Powell. And during the argument, Ashyn Ortega, 18, pulled a gun from his waistband and handed it to Martinez who then started shooting.
Police said they were able to confirm the informants account through social media posts, doorbell, and witness video.
Ortega was arrested at his home on April 7 where police said they found a tan Glock magazine, marijuana edibles, raw marijuana, an AR15 pistol, a Sig Sauer P365, paraphernalia, and .223- and 9mm ammunition.
Police said that while being interrogated, Ortega admitted that he handed his sand-colored Glock handgun to Martinez and it was Martinez who fired the shots.
When Martinez was arrested, police found a Canik 9mm gun case, an empty Glock 17 gun case, an American Eagle 9mm box of ammunition, and loose 9mm ammunition at his home.
During interrogation, police said Martinez admitted he was at a party in Draper and was throwing beer bottles on the ground just before the shooting. At first he said he didn't know where the shots came from or what caused the shooting. But, later in the interview, police said Martinez admitted that Ortega may have been carrying a gun, but Martinez did not know who was shooting. A few minutes later, Martinez told police that Ortega was the shooter.
In the documents, police said that Martinez' motion of skipping along while holding the gun with one hand and spraying bullets across the area not only killed his intended target, Austin Powell, but also killed a second person, Jonathan Fuentes.
Police said that Martinez' "attitude of indifference and even amusement while pulling the trigger demonstrates his danger to the community" and requested he be held without bond.
