OGDEN – A jury on Monday found Keshaun Puente guilty of first degree murder on June 13, 2018 by shooting Denero Snider in a parking lot of an apartment in Ogden.
The jury deliberated for about four hours before delivering the verdict against the 24-year-old Ogden man, who could face life imprisonment. They also tried him on three charges of first degree firearm crimes.
Puente took the stand on Monday morning and denied shooting 23-year-old Snider and said he saw “two or three other people” approach the victim before hearing a fight and gunfire.
Prosecutors alleged that Puente argued a lot with Snider on the 600 block of 23rd Street, shot him four times with a .40 caliber pistol, then jumped into a car that was being driven by his 17-year-old girlfriend and the couple drove to Las Vegas.
During the four-day trial before District 2 Judge Jennifer Valencia, defense lawyers argued that circumstantial evidence was undermined by inconsistencies in the testimony and that prosecutors had no DNA or fingerprint evidence, or identification of Puente as the shooter.
Several arborists, an apartment resident, a woman across the street and two passing motorists testified that they either saw the shooting or saw a black man jump into a silver Hyundai Veloster with a missing front bumper and driven away.
In closing arguments, Attorney Branden Miles of the Weber County Attorney’s Office admitted that none of nine witnesses who saw the shooting or the man who jumped into the Hyundai could identify Puente in a police photo.
But he said several of the witnesses were certain the shooter got into the Hyundai, and much evidence linked Puente to his stay at the Hyundai. While Puente’s former girlfriend said she did not see the shooting, she testified that Puente got into the car after hearing gunshots.
Defense attorney Grant Morrison asked Puente if he shot Snider.
“Damn it, no,” he said. “No I have not.”
Puente said he spoke briefly to Snider in the parking lot while waiting for his girlfriend to pick him up. He said he waved to Snider, a longtime friend according to Puente, and Snider said, “What’s up, ugly?” It was not a derogatory hint, said Puente. “Everyone who knows him is just kidding,” said Puente.
He said he said goodbye to Snider and then saw “two or three people” approach on a sidewalk. He said he was near the Hyundai that had just arrived when he heard an argument. “I wanted to go over there and help him … but then I heard gunshots” and he and the friend drove away.
“You didn’t run and help him?” Asked Miles. “I didn’t know if he shot or if he was shot,” said Puente.
When asked by Miles why he didn’t call the police, Puente said, “I’m not reporting anything.”
The prosecutor asked him why he had given the Nevada police a false name when he was stopped there a few months later. “Everything I’ve seen young black people are being sentenced for what they are later found innocent of,” he said. “The police shoot black youngsters and get away with it all the time. I was scared of going to jail for something I didn’t do. “
In his closing argument, Miles said the loggers and others testified that they saw Snider and a man arguing: “not four, not five”.
Referring to Puente’s statement that he saw one of the other people “jump over a fence” as the Hyundai drove away, Miles said, “Nobody else saw a guy jump over a fence. No one. Because it didn’t happen. “
Miles said Puente executed Denero in broad daylight. He was a one-man firing squad that day. “
Morrison said the evidence presented against Puente did not meet standards beyond reasonable doubt. He said there was no fingerprint or DNA evidence, a gun was never found and no witnesses could identify Puente.
Although no one could identify Puente in a photographic statement, it was “how strange” that they were certain the gunman had gotten into the Hyundai, the attorney said.
Morrison said there was no ongoing antagonism between Puente and Snider and that there was no record of recent communications between the two. Police came up with eight search warrants in the Puente investigation, Morrison said.
“The bottom line is there is no direct evidence and the evidence is full of inconsistencies,” he said.
The sentencing was scheduled for January 4th.
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