Ogden Trece gang member sentenced to prison for random killing of 24-year-old in traffic

OGDEN — A 23-year-old with an extensive criminal history was sentenced to at least three decades in prison Friday for the random killing of Juan "JJ" Garcia Jr., shot at a red light during rush hour on Jan. 17, 2023.

A jury found Mauro Juan Soto guilty in February of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and nine counts of felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony. Soto also pleaded guilty to possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony.

The big question at sentencing Friday was whether Judge Cristina Ortega would give the man life in prison without the possibility of parole, or lesser sentences.

Garcia's family lined the front row of the fourth-floor courtroom, wearing matching shirts with Garcia's face on them. They all advocated for the maximum penalty allowed.

Diana Ramirez, Garcia's mother, shook with grief, holding a letter in one hand and a mic with the other, addressing Soto's back while he looked forward. It is "unimaginable to bury your murdered child," she said. "I will never have any closure because no one will ever be able to bring back my son."

Little sister Ashley Garcia said "life hasn't been the same since," describing sleepless nights and "waves of grief." Juan Garcia Jr. was kind, caring, always there for his family, they said, and had a 3-month-old daughter and loved his partner.

"He was a person, a kind and very funny young man, a wonderful brother, a son any mother would be proud to have. He had goals, he had dreams, and (his mother) continues to suffer. She will never have any closure," Ortega told Soto, her voice catching with emotion.

But Soto, by all accounts, has not taken responsibility for the murder. "You don't deny that a gun was fired and a person lost their life," said Ortega, but "you continue to maintain that you did not fire that gun. This contradicts all of the evidence in this case, including the civilian witnesses who saw what happened and recorded the incident."

Pattern of violence

Soto sat in court expressionless, his head buzzed evenly with tattoos peeking out from his scalp, on his neck and face. He was shackled, wearing a white Utah Department of Corrections jumpsuit.

When it was Soto's turn to speak, he said, "I just want to apologize to the family, just say I'm sorry," before falling back into silence.

His defense attorney, Randall Marshall, wrote in a sentencing memorandum that Soto had been initiated into the Ogden Trece gang by his father shortly before his death, around the age of 15. He is still a member "in good standing," Ortega said.

"Soto's relationships and experiences in childhood and young adulthood were shaped by adversity, intergenerational poverty, lack of positive role models, substance use within the family, gang activity, and parental neglect," the memo states.

At 15, Soto was convicted as a juvenile for robbery.

"In the early morning hours, Soto and multiple other individuals chased two other juveniles that were out playing Pokemon Go," prosecuting attorney Rachel Snow said. "They caught those juveniles, they hit them, they kicked them, they demanded money from them and took their phones."

His streak continued through his teen years with car thefts, fleeing from police, and receiving stolen property, the judge says.

At 18 years old, while pulling up to an intersection, he saw his ex-girlfriend in a car and shot at her 14 times, according to court records. While in prison for that offense, he assaulted an inmate within 30 minutes of being placed in the cell, according to the judge, "for a very insignificant issue."

In September 2021, he was placed on probation but absconded, was arrested, and was given another opportunity to get treatment at the Odyssey House in October 2022, the judge said.

He absconded again, and three months later, Soto partied for three days straight, where Marshall said he injected meth for the first time. Soto told his attorney the "(intravenous) use of meth had 'jumbled' his mind to the degree that his brain was 'mush,'" the sentencing memo says, and he hadn't slept before killing Garcia and ditching the gun.

Marshall, arguing for the minimum sentence, wrote that "in the universe of shooting murders, there was nothing exceptional."

While in prison most recently, Snow said, "He received nine write-ups: tampering with security devices, escape, resisting, forgery, refusing a lawyer, evidence tampering, substance abuse. He has a pending write-up for fighting. He also readily admits to using drugs and alcohol in prison."

Sentencing

"There's also the other layer of how disturbing this all is," Ortega told Soto. "Juan Garcia did nothing to you. Nothing."

She said, "You also stated in the presentence report: 'I'm going to pay with many years of my life that I will never get back.' Do you understand how selfish it is to say that? Someone who mattered to so many people will never get to live all the years of his life and his name is Juan Garcia."

The judge gave Soto 25 years to life, a 5 to 10 year enhancement for the use of a gun, and a 1 to 15 year sentence for the obstruction charge, all to run consecutively with each other and the charges from his past cases he is currently serving, which is 2 to 20 years. For the nine counts of discharging a firearm, Soto got 0 to 5 years, and 1 to 15 for possession of a weapon, both to run concurrently with the murder charge.

He was also ordered to pay around $29,000 in restitution.

"I cannot predict who you will be in 25 years ... you may be the same person that stands before me today, and if that is so, then life in prison will be your fate," said Ortega.

"Not seeing my brother walk through that front door, not hearing his voice or laughter," Juan Garcia's brother, Nathan Garcia, said. "It still doesn't feel real sometimes ... I wish that this was all a dream."

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