As an enthusiastic member of a gang, image was everything to Utahn Joe Perez, and the teen was stewing after a former member of a rival gang insulted him one day in May 2014 in front of a friend, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
So the then-17-year-old had another friend drive him to the Magna home of Carlos L. Martinez later the same day, Assistant Salt Lake County District Attorney Fred Burmester said. The 40-year-old Martinez walked out of his front door after he saw Perez get out of the car, Burmester said, but he didn't get far before the teen fired a handgun.