Arrest made in Sandy shooting investigation

SANDY — Sandy police have arrested a man in connection with a shooting last week.

Thursday night, officers responded to a report of a possible drive-by shooting near 8400 S. State Street, and found two men, one of whom had been shot in the foot.

On Sunday, Carl Devon Hardy, 30, was arrested for investigation of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, illegal discharge of a gun, being a restricted person in possession of a gun and use of drug paraphernalia.

Investigators also determined Hardy was not in a vehicle when he allegedly shot the victim.

On Thursday, just before 10 p.m., several people called police saying they had just heard gunshots near 8400 South and State Street. Responding officers found two crime scenes: one in the parking lot of a grocery store and the other at a nearby apartment complex, according to a police booking affidavit.

Police found two men in their 20s. One was taken to a local hospital to be treated for a gunshot wound to his foot. The men told investigators they "were drinking and rapping, just hanging out" when "some people on a nearby apartment balcony started talking to them" and eventually came down from the apartment and "started squaring up (and) wanting to fight," the affidavit states.

The men said they ran away but later returned when they believed the other group was gone. Shortly after returning, the victims said "a guy came out of the apartment complex and started shooting," according to the affidavit.

The two men ran away again, despite one of them being shot in the foot. The victims believed the shooter was following them in a car.

"This caused (the men) to jump into the canal that was behind the Philips 66 gas station, on the corner of 8400 South State. (They) swam through the water and eventually got out of the canal near a car dealership and there hid between trucks and were later found by Unified police officers," the affidavit states,

Detectives searched the apartment complex, security video and received information from a license plate reader machine that Hardy's vehicle was eastbound on I-80 heading toward Evanston, Wyoming, approximately one hour after the shooting, according to the affidavit.

On Saturday, police interviewed two men who were determined to be with Hardy on the night of the shooting. They said several people were in Hardy's apartment drinking when they got into a confrontation with two men outside.

The witnesses made statements to investigators such as: they were "trying to get Carl not to fight and to come back to the apartment," that they "tried to calm Carl down and push him back in the hallway" and that "Carl got crazy and started doing his thing; what (the witness) meant by 'Carl doing his thing,' wasn't verified," the affidavit states.

Hardy called his friends about 20 to 30 minutes after the shooting "and said he was leaving and that he was turning off his phone."

Police found three casings at the scene and believe Hardy fired at least one round into the air. On Sunday, Hardy went to the Sandy Police Department.

"While advising Carl of his rights, he said that he would probably be asking for an attorney. I finished advising him of his rights and asked if he wanted to talk to me about what happened? He said 'No.' Then Carl started talking again, asking if he could say something off the record. I told him now that his rights had been read, that it would be on the record. Carl continued and said it was a night of drinking, that a situation took place, and that it was fight-or-flight situation and that he came in today," the affidavit states.

Police say after the interview, Hardy was placed under arrest due, in part, to witness statements and surveillance video.

"Furthermore, Carl's pattern of behavior shortly following the event is suspicious; he leaves the state, calls his friends and tells them he is turning off his phone," police note in their affidavit.

Related topics