Woman arrested and car seized in S.L. slaying

Salt Lake police have recovered the vehicle investigators were seeking in connection with a downtown homicide and arrested one woman for investigation of obstruction of justice.

Michelle Ramirez, 22, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Tuesday.

On Sunday, 16-year-old Diego Mendoza was shot in the head while standing near a taco stand near the parking lot of Sears, 754 S. State. A second man, 23-year-old Eder Oronoa, was shot multiple times in the chest. He was listed in serious but stable condition at a local hospital.

After the shooting, detectives put out the word they were looking for a 1991 white four-door Chrysler New Yorker with Utah license plate 488 UTN. An informant told detectives Tuesday where to find the vehicle. Ramirez, who is the owner of the vehicle, told investigators she "had loaned the vehicle to friends," according to a Salt Lake County Jail report.

"She, however, made multiple false statements of known facts of the case as well as refused to provide the identities and circumstances as to the lending of the vehicle. She changed her story multiple times... ," the jail report states.

Ramirez also gave detectives a false birth date, according to the report.

Detectives Wednesday were still looking for suspects. Witnesses described the gunman as a Hispanic man in his 20s, about 5 feet 8 inches, 165 pounds with short curly hair.

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E-mail: preavy@desnews.com