Arrest made in fatal Salt Lake City shooting

SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake City police have arrested a 24-year-old man in connection with a fatal shooting on Nov. 7.

Ernesto Rosendo Flores was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of murder and obstruction of justice.

On Saturday, Evan Cole, 32, was shot and killed near 475 W. 600 South just before 10 a.m.

"Three shell casings were found in the area where the victim was lying," according to a police booking affidavit.

A witness told police that a truck turned off 600 South and stopped, and a second vehicle "whipped in and stopped behind the truck."

"According to the witness, the driver of the truck, the victim, exited his vehicle and approached the driver's door of the white vehicle. The witness then heard three gunshots, and the driver of the truck fell to the ground. The white vehicle then sped off southbound. The witness stated the victim got up and walked towards the driver's seat of the truck, took a few steps back, and fell to the ground," the affidavit states.

Detectives collected video from multiple surveillance cameras in the area, including "video surveillance from a nearby apartment complex (that) showed the victim's truck on Granary Way and a white vehicle directly behind it. The white vehicle left the scene at high speed, heading south on Granary Way," according to the affidavit.

Police were able to identify the suspect's vehicle using surveillance video. And then, "using police body camera footage of a previous traffic stop of the arrested person, (Flores) was identified as the owner of the suspect vehicle," according to the affidavit.

Investigators also used cell phone data to confirm Flores was in the area at the time of the killing, the affidavit states. As of Thursday, neither Flores' vehicle nor the suspected murder weapon had been recovered.

Police say Flores, originally from Las Vegas, has no known Utah address, and it took nearly a week to find him.

Detectives are still looking for a white Audi A5 that they say Flores was driving at the time. It has Nevada "Raiders" license plates, with number AL8K38.

Investigators are also looking for "video footage or witnesses who saw this Audi and a gray pickup truck driving North on I-15 between 7200 South and 600 South on Nov. 7 between 9:45 a.m. and 9:55 a.m.," according to a statement Thursday afternoon from police.

Anyone with information can call police at 801-799-3000.

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