Two men accused of stabbing a man inside a truck and pushing him out of the moving vehicle, leaving his body on the Bangerter Highway, were criminally charged on Thursday. The duo is also accused of kidnapping a man in Park City and robbing him. (Paul Matthew Photography, Shutterstock)
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WEST JORDAN — Two men accused of stabbing and pushing a man out of a moving vehicle onto the Bangerter Highway while trying to rob him, have also been connected to a kidnapping and robbery incident in Park City, according to court documents.
On Thursday, Mario Alberto Carreto-Morales, 24, of Manga, was charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, while Raul Jaimes Cortez, 30, of Magna, was charged in 3rd District Court with murder, also a first-degree felony. In addition, both men were charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping and two counts of aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies; and obstructing justice, which is a second-degree felony.
On Feb. 26, about 2:40 a.m., the body of Cesar Adan Martinez, 37, was found lying on the Bangerter Highway near 8200 South. West Jordan police determined Martinez had likely been thrown from a moving vehicle. An autopsy revealed multiple stab wounds to his abdomen and chest, according to charging documents. Police later found Martinez’s 2008 Dodge Dakota in Salt Lake City and his cellphone in East Canyon.
In reviewing the call log on Martinez’s phone, detectives noticed a call made from Martinez’s phone to Carreto-Morales’ phone just after midnight, the charges state.
The investigation revealed that a group of men, including Martinez and the two suspects, were at a West Valley City restaurant on the night of Feb. 25. Afterward, Carreto-Morales and Cortez asked Martinez for a ride back to their apartment, the charges state. At the apartment, the men consumed alcohol. At one point during the evening, police say Martinez called a friend to say he may need a ride home.
Cortez told police that as Martinez was getting ready to leave, Carreto-Morales came up with the idea to rob him, according to the charges.
“Carreto-Morales wanted to steal Cesar’s truck. The plan, according to Cortez, was to drive Cesar to his home to drop him off and would tell Cesar they would return his truck to him the next morning,” the charges state.
The men left the apartment to drive Martinez home in his truck. Cortez was driving, Martinez was in the passenger seat and Carreto-Morales sat in back.
At some point during the trip, “Cortez said Carreto-Morales attempted to place a metal wire around the Cesar’s neck in the vehicle. Cortez said Cesar pulled the wire away from his neck with his hand and turned in his seat to face Carreto-Morales. Cortez said Carreto-Moraels then reached from the back seat and stabbed Cesar in the stomach two times and (the) chest one time,” according to the charges.
When Martinez opened the passenger door in an apparent attempt to escape, Carreto-Morales pushed him out, the charges state.
Cortez also told investigators that the group had driven toward West Jordan for about 25 minutes, instead of to Salt Lake City, where Martinez lived, because Carreto-Morales wanted to take Martinez to a bank where Martinez had an account, according to the charges.
On March 13, Park City police received a report of a man who was held at knifepoint by two Hispanic men, and taken to Salt Lake City where he was forced to withdraw money from his bank account, the charges state. Information collected by detectives in Park City helped West Jordan police connect Carreto-Morales and Cortez to Martinez’s death, the charges state.
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