Woman charged in connection with Uintah County shooting death

VERNAL — A Uintah County woman has been charged with murder and attempted murder in connection with a June 18 shooting that left one man dead and another wounded.

In addition to the pair of first-degree felony counts, Teaunna F. Cesspooch was also charged Friday in 8th District in Vernal with three counts of aggravated assault, a second-degree felony, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a second-degree felony, and three counts of committing a violent offense in the presence of a child, a class B misdemeanor.

Cesspooch, 19, was at the wheel of a pickup truck that delivered suspected gunman Bruce Silva and six others to a Lapoint home last month after someone broke out windows in Silva's car, according to charging documents. The group had gone to the home intent on "'settling' the issue about the broken windows," the charges state.

When an argument ensued between the pickup truck's occupants and the people at the house, Cesspooch handed a semiautomatic handgun to one of the men she'd driven to the house, the charges state. Silva demanded the gun from the man, who handed it over.

"(Silva) racked a round into the chamber and began firing into the group (on) the porch," the charges state.

James Edward Carey, 25, was fatally wounded when he was struck once in the head, near his right eye, according to Uintah County sheriff's detectives. Jared R. Hurley, 34, suffered gunshot wounds to his arm and chest.

Investigators said they recovered shell casings from a .380-caliber weapon outside the home.

After the shooting, Silva — a documented gang member with a history of violence — and his group climbed back into the truck and Cesspooch drove them to a location where some of the men had another car "stashed away," court records state.

Cesspooch told investigators that she, Silva, his girlfriend Shadow M. Reed, and Colin Ryan Manning took the truck to the Wasatch Front, court records state. Cesspooch and Manning were taken into custody a short time later, but Manning has since been released. Silva and Reed, both 23, have not yet been located.

"We're still following up on a lot of leads," said supervisory deputy U.S. marshal Jim Phelps, commander of the agency's Joint Criminal Apprehension Team in Utah.

"Obviously, we don't know which lead will pan out until we arrest (Silva)," he said, "but we are still actively looking for him."

There is a $1,500 reward for any information leading to Silva's arrest, Phelps said.