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KEARNS — A man once investigated in connection with two shootings, including the killing of a football player, is facing new charges in connection with a hit-and-run crash that left a woman with critical injuries.
Luis Sebastian-Enciso, 23, of West Valley, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with three counts of failing to stop at a serious injury accident and obstruction of justice, both third-degree felonies.
On July 21, Sebastian-Enciso was driving a vehicle near 4200 West and 5400 South that "veered out of its lane of travel, struck a street sign, and then struck" another car, according to charging documents.
Three people in the other vehicle were injured, including a woman who suffered "a traumatic brain injury" and numerous other broken bones and lacerations, the charges state. Surveillance video showed the driver who allegedly hit the victims run from the area following the collision. He had distinctive tattoos on his calves, according to the charges.
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After spending three weeks in the hospital, a woman who narrowly survived a hit-and-run crash in Kearns is asking for the community's help in identifying the suspects.When detectives tracked down Sebastian-Enciso, he claimed his cousin was driving that night, the charges state. Police then interviewed the cousin who allegedly admitted to being the driver. Detectives noted he did not have any tattoos, according to the charges.
When detectives questioned Sebastian-Enciso again a week later, they noted he "had fresh tattoos on both his calves which appeared to cover up older tattoos in the same location," the charges state.
Prosecutors say Sebastian-Enciso's "criminal history is also concerning." In 2019, he was one of three men arrested for investigation of murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Neko Jardine, a member of the Kearns High School football team. Formal charges, however, have not been filed against Sebastian-Enciso in that case as of Wednesday, but prosecutors say the investigation is still active.
He was charged in a separate case a couple of months later with aggravated burglary, a first-degree felony, and aggravated assault, a second-degree felony for his role in a separate shooting and brawl. He was convicted in that case in 2022 and sentenced to one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison. He was paroled about a year and a half later, according to court records.
