WASHINGTON CITY — The suspect reportedly involved in the fatal shooting of a man inside his Washington City apartment Sunday morning will face aggravated murder and other charges.

Simeon Gail Calnimptewa, 17, is charged with six first-degree felonies, including aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and three counts of discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury. He was arrested and transported to the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center Sunday morning.

The St. George Consolidate Communications Center received a 911 call Sunday morning reporting gunshots fired at 20 North Red Trail in Washington City. The report sparked a quick response from officers who were immediately dispatched to the scene.

Officers arrived to find a man in the kitchen of one of the units with several gunshot wounds, and despite life-saving efforts, he succumbed to his injuries, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest. 

Investigators then learned of a second victim who was with the man at the time and told officers they had both left the apartment for a few hours the previous evening and returned home shortly before 2 a.m. to find several of their belongings piled up in the living room. 

Shortly after entering the apartment, the couple encountered an unknown male wearing a ski mask and a dark-colored hoodie walking out of one of the bedrooms brandishing a firearm reportedly pointed in their direction.  A physical altercation ensued when the victim confronted the intruder, which is when the suspect shot the man at least three times. 

Investigators learned that during the altercation, the suspect fired the shots at the victim and then pointed the gun at the woman demanding she open the apartment door, which she did. The suspect then grabbed a jar of money off the kitchen counter and fled that apartment on foot. 

During a canvass of the area, officers found several security cameras to help identify the suspect responsible, including a doorbell camera near the crime scene. 

The footage showed a male wearing a hoodie and baggy pants walking up and down the stairs of the apartment unit just before the incident being reported.  In the video, the suspect was first seen with a facial covering, but after the shooting, the report states, the suspect was seen leaving the apartment carrying a jar of money without any covering over his face. 

Without the ski mask, officers recognized the suspect as Calnimptewa, a juvenile with whom officers have had prior involvements and who lives in the apartment complex where the shooting took place. 

Officers then proceeded to the apartment unit where the suspect lived with his family, and they entered to find the suspect asleep inside. He was taken into custody and transported to the Washington County Juvenile Detention Center. 

During a follow-up interview with police, the teen identified himself as the suspect caught on the security camera but said he was not able “to recall the events from the previous night.” 

The detective also noticed the odor of alcohol coming from the teen, and when asked, the suspect said he had consumed vodka the previous night. 

As the interview progressed, the suspect continued to deny having any memory of the night’s events, “even when confronted with the fact that a man had been murdered,” the investigator stated in the report. 

The suspect eventually acknowledged he was the individual seen in the video descending the stairs immediately after the shooting, the detective noted. 

During a search of the suspect’s apartment, investigators reportedly recovered a hoodie, a ski mask and gloves from the suspect’s bedroom that had  “visible blood” on the items that were consistent with what was seen on the security footage 

Officers also recovered a jar of money, along with two handguns and a spent shell casing, along with suspected marijuana and THC vape cartridges that were located in close proximity to the firearms. 

Investigators also determined the suspect was found in possession of two handguns, at least one of which was reportedly used in the crime, and was restricted from having any firearms while knowingly and intentionally possessing a controlled substance.  

Following the arrest, the case was forwarded to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review.

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. 

St. George News reporter Jessi Bang contributed to this report.

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