In the late afternoon of June 13, 2018, the life of 23-year-old Denero Lamar Snider, a Black/African American male, was cut short in a parking lot in Ogden, Utah. Gunshots echoed through the 600 block of 23rd Street at approximately 4:30 p.m., drawing the swift response of Ogden police. Upon their arrival, they discovered Snider with gunshot wounds.
Paramedics worked quickly to treat him at the scene before he was rushed to a nearby hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
Investigators from the Ogden Police Department, the Weber County Sheriff's Office, and the Weber County Critical Incident Task Force descended on the scene, beginning the arduous process of piecing together the events that led to Snider's death. From the outset, police believed the shooting was an isolated incident, describing the relationship between the victim and the shooter as "acquaintances." Early in the investigation, a person of interest was identified: Keshawn Mykel Puente. Believed to be armed, authorities cautioned the public not to approach him.
The search for Puente extended beyond Utah's borders. He was eventually located and apprehended in Las Vegas, Nevada. In January 2019, Puente was extradited back to Ogden and booked into the Weber County Jail, facing a charge of murder in connection with Snider's death. His arrest brought a sense of progress to the investigation, though the legal proceedings were just beginning.
During Puente's trial in November 2021, a narrative of the fatal encounter began to emerge. Witnesses testified to seeing two men arguing in the parking lot before one, alleged to be Puente, retrieved a gun and fired multiple shots at Snider. After the shooting, the assailant reportedly fled the scene in a car with a female passenger. Despite the chaos, bystanders rushed to Snider's aid, using their own shirts to try and stem the bleeding until professional help arrived. While several witnesses saw the shooting, they were unable to definitively identify Puente as the gunman in a police photo lineup. A key piece of evidence was the getaway car, a silver Hyundai Veloster, which was later found abandoned in North Las Vegas. Prosecutors also planned to present testimony from the woman who was in the car with the shooter, who was expected to recount hearing gunshots before the suspect jumped back in the vehicle and urged her to drive away.
