In the late evening of May 5, 2022, 45-year-old Pete Carlos Robert Ulibarri, a Hispanic/Latino male, was innocently sitting in his vehicle parked in a driveway in a West Valley City neighborhood. The quiet of the evening was shattered when a car, identified by authorities as possibly being a Honda Insight, drove past the home near 3500 South and 6400 West. The vehicle made a U-turn at the end of the street, returned, and slowed down as multiple gunshots were fired toward the residence.
One of the bullets pierced the back windshield of the car Ulibarri was in, striking him in the head. He was rushed to a local hospital in a private vehicle but succumbed to the fatal injury the following day, May 6, 2022.
The subsequent investigation by the West Valley City Police Department revealed a tragic case of mistaken identity and being in the wrong place at the worst possible time. Detectives believe the drive-by shooting was a gang-related act of retaliation. The house where Ulibarri was staying was connected to the recent arrest of a man for a separate murder that had occurred a month earlier in the nearby city of Magna. It is believed the suspects targeted the home in response to that arrest. Police have emphatically stated that Pete Ulibarri had no gang affiliations and was simply an innocent bystander. At the time of the shooting, he had been staying at the home and was generously giving boxing lessons to the children who lived there.
The investigation into Ulibarri's murder has been hampered by a lack of evidence. No shell casings were recovered from the scene, and the video footage available provided very limited information about the suspect vehicle. The case remains unsolved, and no arrests have been made. In an effort to generate new leads, the West Valley City Police Department has publicly offered a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for his death. Authorities continue to appeal to the public for help, believing that there are people with information who could bring justice to Ulibarri and his grieving family.
