SALT LAKE CITY, UT – On Saturday night, police arrested Alex Christopher Mendoza Jr., 19, following the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Emilio Salazar earlier in the day.
According to several witnesses, it was Mendoza who fired the fatal shots into the head of Salazar, around 2 a.m., at 1172 W. California Ave. The victim was transported to Intermountain Medical Center, where he would eventually be pronounced dead.
Mendoza, who goes by the street name “Baby Alex,” is a Chiques gang member, according to police.
He is also no stranger to the law...
The Deseret News reported:
In 2019, Mendoza was charged with aggravated burglary, robbery and two counts of failing to stop at the command of police after allegedly taking away his girlfriend’s cellphone and breaking it, as well as threatening her brother, after she tried to break up with him, according to court records.
Police asked that he be held without bail because he “has been implicated in numerous shootings and weapons offenses, including homicides, and charged with violent felonies,” according to court documents.
Mendoza has been charged with suspicion of murder and three counts of discharging a firearm in the direction of people. He is currently being held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bond.
Mendoza has thus far refused to speak with detectives, and no motive has been given for the homicide at this time.
