Rafael Antonio Torres, Gunman Sentenced to Prison for Drug Trafficking, Utah 2024

A 21-year-old gunman from West Jordan, Utah, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a January 2023 shooting that killed two people.

Rafael Antonio Torres, 21, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release for the crime.

The sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Kimball, represents the mandatory minimum sentence allowed by law.

Torres was originally charged by indictment in March 2024.

According to court documents and statements made at his change of plea and sentencing hearing, Torres admitted to discharging a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Information presented at sentencing revealed that on January 31, 2023, Torres and a relative had met in the parking lot of a Taylorsville apartment complex with a potential customer seeking to purchase THC vape cartridges.

Shortly before midnight, Taylorsville police responded to multiple calls of ‘shots fired’ and located two deceased men in a vehicle that had crashed into a snowbank.

Witnesses described a third person, later identified as Torres, fleeing from the vehicle’s rear seat.

Defendant: Rafael Antonio Torres

Criminal Charges: Discharging a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime

City and State: Taylorsville, Utah

Exact Date: January 31, 2023

Sentence: 10 years’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release

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