OGDEN — The attorney for a Washington Terrace man accused of attempted murder in a broad-daylight drive-by shooting in downtown Ogden says an alibi witness will testify in the defendant’s favor.

Attorney Randall Marshall said a woman will testify that Mauro Soto, 19, could not have been the man who fired 14 shots at a car carrying his pregnant ex-girlfriend and another man at about 9 a.m. Sept. 16, 2020.

In a notice of alibi filed in 2nd District Court on June 28, Marshall said the woman, who now lives in Idaho, said Soto spent the night at her Clearfield apartment the night of Sept. 15 with other friends and had breakfast there in the morning.

“He would not have left until probably noon or later,” the motion said, adding that the woman keeps a journal and can verify the statement with her notes. The woman’s 16-year-old daughter also can verify the alibi, the motion said.

Soto is charged with first-degree felony attempted murder, second-degree felony use of a firearm by a restricted person and 12 counts of third-degree felony discharge of a firearm.

Charging documents said Soto was a passenger in a vehicle that pursued a car carrying his ex-girlfriend and another man and that Soto allegedly sprayed 14 .45 caliber shots at the vehicle, narrowly missing the occupants.

At a preliminary hearing in December, prosecutors showed photos of the bullet-pocked car, including holes through the seats that narrowly missed the occupants.

Police gathered bystanders’ accounts of the shooting, which started near the intersection of 28th Street and Washington Boulevard, a car dealership and a busy convenience store close by.

Police presented a security photo they said showed Soto in the pursuing car.

Soto, who was arrested five days later, repeatedly answered “I don’t know” when police asked him in a recorded interview “why he had fired at the vehicle.”

Marshall questioned the strength of the evidence presented against Soto. He said the security photo was unconvincing and that Soto’s police interview was not an admission.

Deputy Weber County Attorney Chase Hansen said Thursday he had no details about the claimed alibi witness. He said Ogden police gang unit detectives are continuing to investigate the case.

Hansen recently filed a proposed material witness warrant to ensure that Soto’s ex-girlfriend will be available to testify at the trial.

Soto’s trial is set to begin Aug. 2 and a final pretrial hearing is July 15.

Meanwhile, Soto faces a third-degree felony charge of assaulting his cellmate at the Weber County Jail on Dec, 4. Charging documents said Soto became angered when the cellmate would not pick up toilet paper after blowing his nose. Soto allegedly punched the inmate twice in the face, bloodying his nose.