Overview
- A 71-year-old retired U.S. Air Force and Army veteran, James Randell “Randy” Witten, was shot and killed outside his West Point home on May 30, according to charging documents and local reports.
- Prosecutors charged 24-year-old Axel Eduardo Chavez Marroquin with murder after police say surveillance and charging records show a passenger exited a car, fired about 10 rounds at Witten, and the vehicle fled toward Las Vegas where Chavez was arrested on June 16.
- Chavez is held without bail in the Davis County Jail and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has lodged an arrest detainer seeking federal custody while the Utah criminal case proceeds.
- DHS officials say Chavez was previously convicted or arrested on domestic violence charges in California and that ICE lodged detainers then, a point the agency used to urge Utah and other local authorities to honor federal holds; detainers ask jurisdictions to hold a person up to 48 hours for federal pickup but are not mandatory.
- A second suspect, 21-year-old Abner Aroldo Avila, is in custody in California and is being investigated for possible involvement as authorities continue to probe motive and pursue extradition and prosecution.