If you’ve been searching for “Pancho Ruesga and the Magna Shooting Near Salt Lake City,” you’ve probably come across a confusing mix of results — traffic reports, unrelated crash stories, and fragments of a much more devastating event. The truth is, this isn’t a car accident story at all. It’s the story of a father named Pancho Ruesga and the violent, heartbreaking loss of his son Fernando Ruesga Jr. in a shooting that shook the Magna community just outside Salt Lake City.
This article brings together everything that’s known about the April 2022 shooting, the investigation that followed, and what happened to the people involved — including the search for the accused killer.
Who Is Pancho Ruesga? Understanding the Name Behind the Search
Before diving into what happened, it helps to understand who Pancho Ruesga actually is. A lot of searches conflate the father and the son, so let’s clear that up.
Fernando Ruesga Sr. — The Father Known as Pancho
“Pancho” is a common nickname in Latino culture for someone named Fernando or Francisco. In this case, Fernando Ruesga Sr. — widely referred to as Pancho by his family — is the father of the shooting victim. He’s a Magna resident who was intimately involved in the aftermath of the tragedy, speaking to media and helping to push for answers after his son’s death. His voice became one of the most recognizable parts of the early reporting on this case.
Fernando Ruesga Jr. — The 20-Year-Old Son at the Center of the Tragedy
Fernando Ruesga Jr. was a 20-year-old young man from Magna, Utah. He wasn’t a public figure. He wasn’t involved in a car accident. He was a father of three young children — with a fourth on the way — who was killed in a parking lot on what should have been an ordinary Friday afternoon. Understanding who he was helps make sense of why this story matters.
The Day Everything Changed — April 8, 2022
A Routine Drop-Off That Turned Deadly
It was a Friday. Fernando Ruesga Jr. had gone to the Colony Farms apartment complex near 7250 West and 2600 South in Magna to drop off his children. By all accounts, that was the only reason he was there. It was the kind of errand parents do without a second thought.
What happened next was anything but routine.
Shots Fired at Colony Farms Apartment Complex
At approximately 4:28 p.m., Unified Police received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired in the Colony Farms parking lot. Dispatchers logged the calls in quick succession. When officers arrived at the scene on West Loudon Grove Drive, they found Fernando Ruesga Jr. in the driver’s seat of his Dodge Charger, with multiple gunshot wounds. He was already dead.
The front of his car had rolled forward and was up against the apartment building. There were no other victims. The shooter was gone.
What Witnesses Saw That Afternoon
A Fight That Escalated Fast
Jon Dorman, a resident of the Colony Farms complex, happened to be working from home that afternoon. He looked out his window and saw two men in the parking lot facing each other. At first, it didn’t look serious. They had their fists raised, but Dorman said it looked like they were “horsing around” — two guys being loud, possibly posturing. He didn’t think much of it.
Then everything changed.
“They started fighting each other, just kind of fists and stuff. I didn’t know if it was serious or not,” Dorman told reporters. “They both walk back to their cars.”
That’s when things turned deadly. One of the men went to his car and came back with a gun.
The Gray Maserati and the Getaway
According to Dorman and other witnesses, one of the men got into a gray Maserati. Multiple shots were fired in rapid succession. Then the Maserati sped away from the parking lot. Thirteen shell casings were later recovered near Fernando Ruesga Jr.’s car. The entire sequence — from argument to shooting to getaway — happened in broad daylight, in a residential complex, near a school.
It was exactly the kind of scene that leaves a community shaken.
Police Respond to the Colony Farms Shooting
What Officers Found at the Scene
When Unified Police officers arrived, they immediately secured the apartment complex and began canvassing the area — knocking on doors, looking for surveillance cameras, interviewing anyone who had seen or heard something. Fernando Ruesga Jr. was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no weapon found on him, and investigators quickly determined he had not returned fire. He was the victim, not an aggressor.
Detectives confirmed there were no other injuries at the scene. Children and families living nearby had been in the area, which made the nature of the attack even more alarming.
Detectives Speak Out — “A Brazen Crime in Broad Daylight”
Detective Kevin Mallory of the Unified Police Department didn’t hold back when speaking to media in the immediate hours after the shooting.
“This is a very brazen crime that happened in broad daylight,” Mallory said. “We value people who call 911, who are willing to make themselves available to try and gather information, because it’s our partnership with communities and working with witnesses that helps us solve these types of crimes.”
Mallory confirmed that the shooting didn’t appear to be random, and that there was no immediate threat to the broader public. But that didn’t make the scene any less disturbing for the people who lived there.
A Father’s Worst Fear Comes True
Pancho Ruesga Was Waiting for His Son That Day
Fernando Ruesga Sr. — Pancho — had been waiting for his son that afternoon. The two were supposed to meet up because Fernando Jr. was planning to sell his car. Pancho was waiting for a text back, waiting for a call. Nothing came.
Then he saw it on social media — a report of a shooting involving a 20-year-old in the same area where his son had gone. He checked the address. His stomach dropped.
“By the guidance of God I felt really something wrong,” he told ABC4. He drove to the Magna area. His instincts had been right all along.
The Family’s Words After the Loss
Fernando Ruesga Jr. left behind three young children, a partner who was expecting their fourth child, and a family that described him as endlessly loving and full of life.
“He’s just a loving kid — very happy, always smiling, loved his children so much,” his mother Melanie Galindo told reporters. His father could barely find words. He talked about faith — about leaving it in God’s hands, about living day by day. About waiting for justice.
The family held a vigil on April 9, the day after the shooting. Friends and community members gathered to remember a 20-year-old who should have had decades ahead of him.
The Investigation Unfolds — Following the Evidence
From Shell Casings to Cell Phone Data
From the start, investigators had leads. Thirteen shell casings at the scene. Multiple witness accounts. A clear description of the suspect vehicle. Detectives from the Unified Police Department’s violent crimes unit began working through the evidence quickly, and what they pieced together became a compelling case.
Cell phone data placed a specific individual at the crime scene at the time of the shooting. An eyewitness was also able to identify the shooter. The investigation wasn’t going to go cold — the question was just how long it would take to bring the suspect in.
The Maserati Found Abandoned in Salt Lake City
By April 12 — four days after the shooting — the gray Maserati that witnesses had seen speeding away from the Colony Farms parking lot was located. It had been abandoned in an apartment complex parking lot in Salt Lake City. A witness told police they saw the driver ditch the car, then get into a silver SUV and take off.
That detail mattered. It meant the suspect had a secondary vehicle waiting. This wasn’t a spontaneous act of panic. Someone had planned an exit.
Arrest Warrant Issued for Noah Valenzuela Sanchez
On April 11, 2022, prosecutors filed charges against 22-year-old Noah Ezequiel Valenzuela Sanchez. An arrest warrant was issued. The charges were serious: murder (a first-degree felony), obstruction of justice (a second-degree felony), and 12 counts of illegally discharging a firearm (third-degree felonies).
“The defendant and his vehicle were placed at the scene of the homicide,” charging documents stated. “An eyewitness identified the defendant as the shooter, and data from T-Mobile and the defendant’s vehicle also places him at the scene at the time of the shooting.”
Despite the warrant, investigators acknowledged they hadn’t located Sanchez. “Despite numerous efforts, law enforcement has been unable to locate him, and it is believed that he has left the state,” the charges noted.
What Was the Motive? The Gang Rivalry Angle
What Charging Documents Revealed
The motive, according to prosecutors, was rooted in gang affiliation. Charging documents described a known conflict between Fernando Ruesga Jr. and Noah Sanchez that predated April 8. The two men were not strangers. They had a history — and the events in that parking lot were connected to it.
A Complicated Connection Between Victim and Suspect
Here’s where the details get complicated. A woman who had children with Fernando Ruesga Jr. was also, according to prosecutors, Noah Sanchez’s girlfriend. She told police that the two men “had a beef with each other due to their gang affiliation.” That relationship formed a triangle of tension — personal and street-level — that appears to have come to a head on that Friday afternoon.
None of this excuses what happened. A 20-year-old man lost his life. His children lost their father. His parents lost their son. Whatever the backstory, the human cost was devastating.
The Community Responds — Vigil, Grief, and a Call for Justice
Family and Friends Gather to Remember Fernando Jr.
The evening after the shooting, the Ruesga family organized a vigil near the Colony Farms area. People came out in the cold April evening to light candles, share memories, and stand with a family that was still trying to make sense of what had happened. It was the kind of community gathering that happens after sudden, violent loss — raw and real, held together by grief and love.
What His Parents Said About the Man He Was
What stayed with people who heard the family speak was how simply and powerfully they described Fernando Jr. Not as a statistic or a headline, but as a person. A son who would text back. A father who loved his kids and couldn’t stop smiling around them. A young man whose life had barely begun.
Pancho Ruesga — the father behind the name in this search — spoke from that place. He didn’t talk about revenge. He talked about God, about grief, about waiting for justice through the proper channels. His composure under impossible pain was striking.
Where Does the Case Stand Today?
Has Noah Sanchez Been Located?
As of the information available from 2022 reporting, investigators believed Noah Valenzuela Sanchez had fled the state of Utah after the shooting. A first-degree murder warrant had been issued. Beyond that, public reporting on the outcome of his arrest or trial is limited in available records. Families in situations like this often continue to advocate for updates through law enforcement and victim advocacy organizations.
If you have information about this case, the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake can be reached directly.
What the Ruesga Family Is Waiting For
Fernando Ruesga Sr. — Pancho — made it clear in his interviews: the family was waiting for justice. They believed in a process. They believed in God’s timing. But they also believed that the man responsible for killing their son needed to be held accountable. That belief doesn’t go away. It lives in a family, day after day, year after year, until a case reaches its conclusion.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Pancho Ruesga Magna Shooting
Who is Pancho Ruesga? Pancho Ruesga is the nickname of Fernando Ruesga Sr., a Magna, Utah resident and the father of Fernando Ruesga Jr., a 20-year-old man who was fatally shot at the Colony Farms apartment complex on April 8, 2022.
Was Fernando Ruesga Jr. involved in a car accident? No. Fernando Ruesga Jr. was killed in a shooting, not a car accident. He was found deceased in the driver’s seat of his Dodge Charger in the Colony Farms parking lot in Magna after being shot multiple times.
What happened at Colony Farms apartment complex in Magna in 2022? On April 8, 2022, a physical altercation in the Colony Farms parking lot near 7250 West and 2600 South in Magna escalated when one of the men involved retrieved a firearm and shot Fernando Ruesga Jr. multiple times. Ruesga Jr. died at the scene.
Who is accused of killing Fernando Ruesga Jr.? Noah Ezequiel Valenzuela Sanchez, 22, was charged with murder and related offenses in connection with the shooting. An arrest warrant was issued on April 11, 2022. Investigators believed he had left Utah at the time charges were filed.
What was the motive for the Magna shooting? According to charging documents, the motive was linked to gang affiliation. A woman who had children with Ruesga Jr. was also reportedly in a relationship with the suspect, Sanchez. Prosecutors stated the two men had a longstanding conflict tied to gang ties.
Where is Colony Farms apartment complex? Colony Farms is a residential apartment complex located near 7250 West and 2600 South in Magna, Utah, a community situated just west of Salt Lake City.
Did Fernando Ruesga Jr. have children? Yes. Fernando Ruesga Jr. was the father of three young children at the time of his death, with a fourth child expected. His family described him as a devoted and loving father.
What police department investigated the Magna shooting? The Unified Police Department (UPD) of Greater Salt Lake handled the investigation, with Detective Kevin Mallory serving as the lead spokesperson in the early days of the case. Detectives from the violent crimes unit worked the investigation using cell phone data, witness accounts, and surveillance evidence.