BULLHEAD CITY – A teenager who served as the wheel-man in a drive by shooting that critically injured another teen in Bullhead City over the summer will go to adult prison if a judge accepts a proposed plea agreement unveiled Jan. 8 at the Law and Justice Center in Kingman.
Angel Salazar, 16, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a deal dismissing attempted murder, drive-by shooting and discharging a firearm-related charges. The plea requires Judge Billy Sipe to impose a 2.5-year prison term at a Feb. 9 sentencing hearing.
The victim’s family members want more prison time and the plea could unravel if Judge Sipe rejects the sentencing limitations next month.
Deputy County Attorney Bob Moon said co-defendants, Anthony Donnelly Kemp, 16, and Andres Ruiz-Solis, 18, were in the vehicle Salazar drove to confront others at Rotary Park on June 5. Defense attorney Paul Amann said Salazar thought they were merely going to engage in a fist fight, not a shooting.
Police allege that it was Kemp who fired four or five rounds from a handgun, wounding a 16-year-old boy in the head and stomach. His cousin told Judge Sipe the injuries are life-altering.
“His life will never truly be the same moving forward,” she said. “He had to relearn how to eat, walk and speak.”
Amann said Salazar was the least culpable of the trio and that he is remorseful and has accepted responsibility. He urged the Court to accept the plea deal and its terms.
The plea also requires Salazar to pay restitution that is expected to exceed $100,000.
