In the early morning hours of May 26, 2021, a grim discovery was made in the parking lot of the Granger Medical Clinic in West Valley City, Utah. Officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle with its lights on and a rear passenger door ajar. Inside the back seat of the car, they found the body of 27-year-old Hispanic male, Juan Jose Zamora Guerrero.
He had sustained a fatal gunshot wound, and police immediately began treating the case as a homicide.
Investigators quickly pieced together the events leading to the discovery. Surveillance footage from the clinic revealed that the car had been left in the parking lot around 8:30 p.m. the previous evening, May 25. The video showed a 15-year-old boy exiting the vehicle, approaching the clinic entrance, and then opening the back door of the car before fleeing the scene. Police were able to identify and locate the juvenile for questioning. During interviews, the teen's story changed, eventually leading investigators to a suspect.
The investigation led to the arrest of 22-year-old Michael Manuel Melara. According to charging documents, the shooting did not occur at the clinic but at a residence in West Valley City. Melara told police he had been at his home smoking marijuana and handling a recently purchased revolver. He stated that as he sat in his truck, he was holding the gun out the window when Zamora Guerrero approached. Melara claimed that as Zamora Guerrero got close, he bumped the firearm, causing it to discharge a single round that struck him in the chest.
After the shooting, Melara instructed the juvenile to put the wounded Zamora Guerrero in a car and drive him to the hospital. The teen drove the car to the medical clinic, left it in the parking lot, and fled. Melara was subsequently charged with manslaughter, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and obstructing justice.
