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PROVO — Two people have been arrested in connection with the death of a man found shot in the head on the front porch of his home earlier this month.
The arrests happened late Monday and early Tuesday. One of the suspects, Yuri Sanchez Lara, 32, of Orem, was arrested during a traffic stop in Provo. The traffic stop was not random, said Provo Police Capt. Jerry Harper.
Police received several tips in connection with the murder of Andy Purcell, 32. One of those tips led them to the Baymont Inn & Suites near 2200 West and 3300 South in West Valley City. Hiding inside was Darrell Wayne Morris, 38, the second man wanted in Purcell's death.
KSL TV was there when police arrested Morris Tuesday and captured exclusive video of the Utah County Major Crimes Task Force making the arrest around 3 a.m. West Valley City Police, the Utah Highway Patrol and the Metro Gang Unit were all on hand to assist.
Harper says he believes the two men are major players in the murder, and says that one of them has been a suspect since it happened.
"There was something going on, which I can't discuss. But they knew each other. It was not random," Harper said. He went on to say that the relationship between the three will come out in court.
Purcell, 32, was found shot on the front porch of his Provo home near 500 South and 300 East, on the morning of May 16. He suffered a single gunshot wound to the head. He died a day later. No weapon was found at the scene.
Provo police released limited information about the arrests. Harper said he still could not discuss a possible motive and declined to say whether additional arrests were possible.
"I can't discuss the particulars of the case, but we're very comfortable with who we've got being responsible," Harper said.
Utah state court records show Morris has an extensive criminal history. He was charged in 3rd District Court in March with theft and forgery related crimes and had a warrant issued for his arrest for failing to appear in court on May 12.
Morris was convicted of similar forgery and theft charges in January. A warrant for that case was issued in April for failing to appear for sentencing. Morris took a plea in abeyance in February on drug-related charges in a separate case, and had another warrant issued for his arrest on Friday for failing to pay restitution.
In 2006, Morris was sentenced to prison following several forgery and drug-related convictions in Carbon County.
Lara was charged in March in Utah County with several felony drug- and firearm-related crimes.
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Story written with contributions from Shara Park and Pat Reavy.
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