A Utah man is headed to prison after helping a friend hunt down teenagers who were allegedly "egging" cars — a night that ended with a 16-year-old boy shot dead from about a foot away, prosecutors say.
Martin Antonio Cruz, 31, was sentenced Monday to a prison term of one to 15 years for manslaughter, according to court records cited by lawandcrime.com.
The case began in the early hours of a night in Salt Lake City, when a group of teenagers reportedly went around throwing eggs at cars. What started as a prank quickly escalated into violence.
Prosecutors say Cruz was riding with his friend, Fortunato Nato Villagrana, when the pair decided to hunt down the teens. Villagrana was armed with an AK-47, according to the Salt Lake County District Attorney's office, as reported by lawandcrime.com.
At some point during the confrontation, the gun was fired. Paris Gustin, 16, was struck and killed. The shooting happened at close range — prosecutors described it as an execution from just a foot away, lawandcrime.com reported.
Cruz was not the shooter. But authorities said he played a role in the events that led to Gustin's death. He was charged and ultimately pleaded to manslaughter, a first-degree felony, according to court records.
Villagrana, the alleged shooter, faces separate charges. The Salt Lake City Police Department has identified him as a suspect in the killing, according to the booking photo released by the department and cited by lawandcrime.com.
Defense attorneys for Cruz have not publicly commented on the sentencing, and the source material does not include their remarks.
What remains unclear is exactly what happened in the moments before the gun went off — whether the teens were still nearby, whether words were exchanged, or how the confrontation turned deadly. Prosecutors have not released a detailed narrative of the shooting beyond the broad outline described above.
Also unknown is the status of Villagrana's case. The source does not say whether he has entered a plea, whether a trial date has been set, or what charges he faces beyond the implied homicide allegations. Those details may emerge in future court filings.
For now, Cruz's sentence of one to 15 years means he could serve as little as a year behind bars, depending on parole decisions and prison conduct. Utah law allows for such a range in manslaughter convictions, according to the sentencing order cited by lawandcrime.com.
The Gustin family has not issued a public statement in the source material. The community has been left with the loss of a 16-year-old whose life ended over what police say started as a prank involving eggs.
Cruz is now in the custody of the Utah Department of Corrections. The next concrete step in the legal process will be Villagrana's court appearance, though no date has been announced in the source.
Until then, the full picture of that night — who said what, who acted when, and why the trigger was pulled — remains incomplete. The case is a reminder that even a minor nuisance can spiral into tragedy when weapons are introduced.
For now, the justice system has moved one step forward: one man sentenced, another still awaiting his day in court.