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MURRAY— Two men are facing federal charges accusing them of trying to carjack a woman in a Murray fitness center parking lot and ending up involved in a shootout.
Federal indictments were unsealed Thursday against Lt Col Siamelie Nick Mila, 20, and Maddyn Dean Christiansen, both of Salt Lake County. Both are charged in U.S. District Court with attempted carjacking and using a gun in the commission of a violent crime. Investigators say Lt Col is part of Mila's given name and not a military title.
Mila and Christiansen apparently picked their victim at random based on the car she was driving, according to the federal indictment.
A woman in her 20s was shot in the abdomen about 10:40 a.m. on April 3 in the parking lot of EOS Fitness, 5550 S. 900 East, during what police described as an attempted carjacking and she was taken to a local hospital in critical condition.
A man in his 20s was also shot. He got into another car before police arrived and was later "dropped off at a local hospital with a critical but stable gunshot wound to the chest," police said. Mila was arrested after being treated at a hospital.
According to the indictment, investigators reviewed surveillance video and saw that as the victim got into her BMW, "the suspect can be seen wearing a blonde wig, exiting the passenger door of a black Audi that was parked a few stalls down from the BMW.
"Investigators then observed smoke from a weapon being discharged and the suspect running away from the scene. Then a few moments later, the victim is seen limping back toward the gym and the suspects' Audi leaving the area of the shooting," the indictment states.
Prosecutors say Mila had a gun in his hand and demanded the woman's keys. The woman, however, has a concealed carry permit and she drew her gun and fired.
2 shot during attempted carjacking in Murray gym parking lot
Two people were seriously injured in a shooting in a Murray gym parking lot Wednesday night.Police later found the Audi that drove off with Mila. Christiansen was the driver, according to the indictment.
"In the front passenger seat of the Audi, a handgun was discovered. Bullet holes were also discovered on the exterior of the Audi. In the front passenger seat of the Audi, blood was discovered and processed," the indictment says.
When questioned by detectives, Mila "stated that he needed to steal a BMW for some other people that were going to pay him for it" and "that after stealing the BMW he was to drop it off at an undisclosed location in Salt Lake near the Capitol," according to the indictment.
Court documents indicate that Mila "admitted that he and his co-defendant had spent the day looking for a BMW and that they agreed to look at the gym parking lot."
When Mila and Christiansen spotted the woman's BMW in the EOS parking lot, Mila decided that "he was going to wait for the owner to come back and that he was going to try and scare them in some way to get the keys," the indictment states.
But when he approached the woman, Mila said the reason he "got shot was obviously because I had a weapon in my hand, and she was defending herself," according to the charges. "Nick further stated that by the time she pulled out her gun, it was too late, and he didn't register what was happening. He thought he got shot in the face and he shot back. Nick said they were close, approximately 10-11 feet apart."
Investigators say "Mila and the victim engaged in continuing gunfire."
The woman's updated condition was not immediately available Friday.
