CEDAR CITY — A Cedar City man pleaded guilty in 5th District Court last week for his role in the 2014 murder of Shawn Multine.
Angelo Carrasco took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to first-degree felony aggravated murder at a Dec. 15 court hearing. Additional felony charges of aggravated burglary and aggravated assault were dropped.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said the court has the option of sentencing Carrasco to 25 years-to-life in prison or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors will be pushing for the latter option, he said.
A pre-sentencing investigation has been ordered by the court, with a two-day sentencing hearing set for April 2016.
Also connected to the case are 20-year-old Clarissa Bulletts and 31-year-old Eric Rodriguez.
Police responded to a report of a possible homicide at a Cedar City residence the night of Oct. 21, 2014, and found Multine dead at the scene, killed by an apparent gunshot. Eyewitnesses at the scene identified Carrasco as the shooter.
According to court records, Carrasco forced his way into the residence where Multine was and physically assaulted a woman by shoving her aside when he entered. After shooting Multine with a rifle, Carrasco then pointed the gun at another adult male resident of the house while threatening to kill him and chasing him through the house. Carrasco then left the scene.
Police were alerted to Carrasco’s presence at a gas station 30 minutes later and apprehended him. He was taken into custody without incident. He waived his Miranda rights and admitted to police he killed Multine, according to court records.
As the investigation into Multine’s murder progressed, Bulletts and Rodriguez were arrested Oct. 30, 2014. Multine was Bulletts’ stepfather.
According to court documents, prior to the shooting, Bulletts drove Rodriguez and former boyfriend Carrasco to a Cedar City home where Multine was believed to be. Rodriguez entered the home with a wooden club in hand while attempting to find and lure Multine outside to a place where Carrasco was allegedly waiting to shoot him with a high-powered rifle that Bulletts had supplied.
When their first attempt to find Multine failed, Bulletts allegedly contacted him in a second attempt to lure him to an area where Rodriguez and Carrasco were waiting.
When this attempt also failed, Bulletts remained in the area and waited as Carrasco and Rodriguez went to yet another home — the residence where Multine was. Rodriguez stood in the driveway yelling for Multine to come out of the house. When he didn’t respond, Carrasco forced his way into the home.
Carrasco and Rodriguez fled the scene following the shooting. Rodriguez allegedly aided in disposing of the gun that was used in the shooting, then Bulletts transported both men out of the area.
Bulletts and Rodriguez were both interviewed in the days following the shooting and each provided testimony that hindered or delayed the investigation, according to court documents.
A possible motive for the shooting may be connected to testimony given during Bullets’ preliminary hearing when she said she told Carrasco her stepfather allegedly sexually assaulted her, Garrett said.
Bulletts pleaded guilty to her role in the murder in September. She pleaded guilty to felony second-degree felonies for manslaughter and obstructing justice. She was sentence to serve one to 15 years in prison.
Robriguez has a multi-day jury trial set for April 2016 and has been charged with first-degree felonies for murder and aggravated burglary and a second-degree felony for obstructing justice.
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