Officers arrest teen accused of firing gun during basketball game in St. George

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ST. GEORGE — A teen accused of firing a gun near a group of juveniles playing a basketball game in February was arrested last week and booked into jail on multiple aggravated assault charges. He remains in custody without bail.

Stock image for illustrative purposes only | Photo by Glenn Highcove/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

On the evening of Feb. 1, shortly after 6:30 p.m., officers responded to an elementary school in the Dixie Downs area on what was initially reported as a weapons offense call.

The caller said a fight broke out and one of the teens “had a gun and fired it,” the officer noted in the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

All parties reportedly were gone by the time officers showed up. Upon reviewing the school’s security system, authorities say they saw a group playing basketball on the school’s basketball court when another group of teens approached the players, and a fight broke out between the two groups.

“However, no one firing a gun could be seen on this video,” the officer noted in the report.

Further investigation revealed there were approximately seven juveniles playing basketball when the other group — comprised of mostly minors — showed up and a verbal argument escalated into a physical fight between several of the juveniles.

Officers say another video later turned over to the police showed a male shooting a gun in the air during the altercation. This video showed a teen, later identified as 18-year-old Ricardo Arturo Toledo, wearing a mask on his face and a black hoodie with the hood pulled up.

As the fight continued, one of the suspects could be heard yelling “Ricky” in the footage, followed by another voice asking, “Where the shot at,” before the crowd began backing away. Seconds later, “the distinct sound of a handgun being racked with a round” in the chamber was heard, investigators say.

The footage showed Toledo holding the handgun in a sweeping motion across the crowd before pointing the gun in the air and firing a shot, which caused a distinct flash and sound just as the group of juveniles started to scatter off camera, the report states.

2020 file photo of Purgatory Correctional Facility, Hurricane, Utah, Oct. 21, 2020 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Investigators say they also found photos from a social media site that showed Toledo holding a black handgun. A loaded magazine also could be seen in the frame. In a second photo, Toledo was seen with what appeared to be the same black handgun tucked into his waistband.

The report states that both photos were posted one month prior to the February altercation.

On Wednesday, May 24, officers responded to an apartment complex on North Dixie Drive in St. George after receiving information that Toledo was possibly staying there. Toledo was found in one of the units and arrested. He was then transported to the St. George Police Department before being transported to jail.

Toledo was formally charged with eight third-degree felony charges including seven counts of aggravated assault and one count of felony discharge of a firearm. He was also charged with misdemeanor possession of a firearm on school premises.

The aggravated assault charges were filed due to Toledo allegedly pointing the gun at all seven juveniles, an act that was “followed by an immediate show of force or violence to do bodily injury to another,” investigators noted.

Authorities requested that Toledo be held without bail based on evidence indicating “he has access to firearms and will use those firearms in a reckless and dangerous manner,” which shows he is a danger to society. The request was granted and a no-bail hold was signed by District Judge G. Michael Westfall on Thursday morning.

Later that same day, Toledo made an initial appearance in the 5th District Court in St. George. He is scheduled to return to court on Thursday, June 1, for a preliminary status hearing on the case. Toledo was the only suspect named from the group since all other suspects were under the age of 18.

On May 9, less than three weeks before Toledo’s arrest, he appeared in court for sentencing on a felony drug distribution charge filed in December of last year. During the hearing, the charge was reduced to a misdemeanor in exchange for a guilty plea and the jail term was suspended in the case.

Instead, Toledo was placed on two years’ probation and ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation, pay a fine and obey all laws, as well as other standard terms as required by the courts.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2023, all rights reserved.

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