Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Joshua Arthur Mielke, 16, has been charged as an adult with murder in the Aug. 3 killing of a Millcreek man.
- Mielke is the fourth person charged as an adult in the killing at the Mount Olympus trailhead.
- Police say the suspects are documented gang members but the victim and his friends had no gang ties.
MILLCREEK — A fourth person has been charged as an adult in connection with the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old man at the Mount Olympus trailhead.
Joshua Arthur Mielke, 16, was charged Friday in 3rd District Court with murder, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, and two counts of firing a gun causing serious injury, all first-degree felonies; aggravated assault, a second-degree felony; and assault, a class A misdemeanor. All charges are filed with gang penalty enhancements if convicted.
Naod Welday, 18, of Millcreek, was shot and killed on Aug. 3 about 4:30 a.m. at the Mount Olympus trailhead parking lot at 5425 Wasatch Boulevard. His body was found in the driver's seat of the vehicle in which he was trying to hide.
Police say Welday and his friends, who are not associated with any gangs, were approached by a group of documented gang members.
"(One friend) stated that two males approached them, saying random stuff, asking if they 'rep?' and 'Want to gang bang?' They told the two males that they don't 'mess with that,'" according to charging documents.
One of the victims was then punched in the mouth, causing that friend to run and hide, the charges state. As the friend was hiding, he watched his attackers get into two cars, "slowly driving down and circling on Wasatch Boulevard in the direction he ran, like they were looking for him," court documents state.
But when the cars started heading back to the parking lot, the man called Welday and his other friend to warn them that the group was coming back. Welday and his friend attempted to hide in the car, but the other group smashed through the windows, and Welday was shot and killed, the charges state.
Heriberto Martinez, 20, Alex Daniel Ruiz-Martinez, 19, and Christian de la Rosa, 17, were previously charged with murder in connection with the shooting. A 15-year-old boy is also charged in juvenile court.
On Aug. 15, detectives served a search warrant on Mielke's cellphone and used data from the phone to place him at the scene of the killing, the charges state.
Prosecutors said Mielke is a documented gang member and "has a significant delinquency history, including firearm-related offenses and fleeing (from) police, making him a continuing risk to the community. At the time of his arrest … he was a (juvenile) fugitive, having removed his ankle monitor."
