Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Pirawn Yohan Mula, 22, is charged with murder in a Murray shooting.
- Two others, Jackson Baka Issa and Anthony Marc Cook, face related charges.
- The victim, Panoum Jangjuol, was shot twice, once at point-blank range.
MURRAY — A Salt Lake man is facing criminal charges accusing him of shooting another man twice, including once at "point blank range."
Pirawn Yohan Mula, 22, who goes by the moniker "Popeye," was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with murder and discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, first-degree felonies; plus obstruction of justice and being a restricted person in possession of a gun, second-degree felonies.
Two other men who police say were involved have also been charged.
Jackson Baka Issa, 24, of Taylorsville, was charged Tuesday with transferring or possession of a gun by a restricted person, a second-degree felony. Anthony Marc Cook, 36, of Murray, was charged with witness tampering, a third-degree felony.
On Nov. 21, Murray police responded to a shooting at 4460 S. Fairbourne Ave. They arrived to find 26-year-old Panoum Jangjuol on the ground. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. Two shell casings were recovered from the scene, the charges state.
While detectives were on scene, a witness approached them and said Mula had shot the victim. Cook, who was standing nearby, then "approached the unidentified male, telling him to keep his mouth shut. The unidentified male and Cook argued before Cook … struck the unidentified male in the face with his right hand, yelling at him again to shut his mouth. Cook stated that he would deal with anyone who assisted police," according to the charges.
Another witness said Mula and Jangiuol started arguing shortly after Mula arrived at the apartments and Mula shot him with "the absence of any justification," the charges allege. The two shots were fired about three seconds apart, and "the second round was clearly discharged at point blank range to the back of (Jangjuol's) head."
During a search of Issa's room, police seized "a small baggie with loose 9mm bullets," a handgun, a box of .40 caliber bullets and a medium-sized bag that contained prescription pills for Mula, according to prosecutors. As of Tuesday, the gun Mula used to shoot Jangiuol had not been located, according to the charges.
This is the second time Issa has been arrested and accused of being present during a shooting. In 2021, he was charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. Police say he and another man had entered a 7-Eleven, 4051 S. State, and ended up shooting at the clerk six times following an argument. Amazingly, the clerk was not injured.
