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WEST VALLEY CITY — A West Valley man was charged Tuesday with shooting another man in the neck over the weekend after the two had been drinking at his home and got into a fight.
Alexander Ernesto Ventura-Lopez, 29, is charged in 3rd District Court with shooting a gun causing serious injury, a first-degree felony; possession of a gun by a restricted person, a second-degree felony; and giving false information to a police officer, a class C misdemeanor.
Just before 11 p.m. Friday, West Valley police were called to Ventura-Lopez's residence, near 2900 South and 5500 West, on a report of shots fired. Officers then received a call from a local hospital stating that a 30-year-old man who had been shot had just been driven to their facility, according to charging documents.
The victim had gone to Ventura-Lopez's residence to drink with him. The two men are co-workers, police said.
"The men got into an argument which became physical inside of the residence and moved outside. At some point the visitor called for a different friend to pick him up, and as the friend arrived, (Ventura-Lopez) pointed a firearm at the the victim and shot multiple times," West Valley police spokeswoman Roxeanne Vainuku said.
After shots were fired, the victim grabbed onto the hood of his friend's car, and his friend "drove away with (the victim) still on the hood of the vehicle" as Ventrua-Lopez continued to shoot, according to the charges. The friend drove a short distance before stopping and getting the victim into the car and going to the hospital.
Police say the man was shot in the neck and a leg.
"The victim sustained potentially life threatening injuries due to being shot," charging documents state.
Officers who responded to the scene reported finding a large amount of blood leading up to the residence. When questioned, Ventura-Lopez said he was involved in a fight with two friends and "said that the altercation started inside the residence and then outside in the front yard area," according to a police booking affidavit. Ventura-Lopez claimed the fight was over the sale of a gun and that he was attacked first.
Police say the 30-year-old victim at last word was critically injured but stable.
