OGDEN — A Washington Terrace man who chased down and shot up a car carrying his pregnant ex-girlfriend was sentenced to zero-tolerance probation Thursday under terms of a plea bargain.

Chase Hansen of the Weber County Attorney’s Office said during Mauro Soto’s sentencing hearing that prosecutors worked out a plea bargain with the defense in July because the victim was uncooperative and there were “factual issues” in the case.

Charging documents said Soto was a passenger in a vehicle on Sept. 16, 2020, that pursued a car carrying his ex-girlfriend and another man and that Soto allegedly fired 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.

In the plea deal, Soto, 19, pleaded guilty to second-degree felony aggravated assault, reduced from first-degree felony attempted murder, and felony discharge of a firearm, a third-degree felony. Prosecutors agreed to drop 13 other felony charges. At the same time, Soto received a probation term after pleading guilty to third-degree assault by a prisoner for beating his cellmate in the Weber County Jail last December.

Hansen and Judge Brain Cannell both admonished Soto, a gang member with a long juvenile court record, to adhere to probationary terms. The suspended prison terms, each for zero to five years in prison, would take effect if he violates probation.

“If you are caught with a gun or drugs, you will go to prison,” Hansen said. A further gun offense could draw the attention of federal prosecutors, he said, and a firearms conviction in federal court could attract a 10-year prison term.

Hansen said Soto’s probation, to be managed by Utah Adult Probation and Parole, likely will include substance abuse and mental health treatment, and courses on critical thinking, anger management and domestic violence.

“You’re a young man,” Cannell told Soto. “You need to make some changes.”

Photo supplied, Ogden Police Department

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