Teen charged with shooting and killing man during burglary

WASHINGTON, Washington County — A teenager is accused of fatally shooting a man as he burglarized the victim's apartment and fled the scene Sunday.

Simeon Gail Calnimptewa, 17, has been charged with aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, aggravated assault, possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Documents state that a woman and Bransen Bryels-Nechanicky returned to their apartment around 1:45 a.m. and found a man, later identified as Calnimptewa, burglarizing their home.

“(The woman) states that upon entering the residence, they observed that several of their personal belongings were piled up in the living room, which was not the case previously when they left,” the court document states.

The woman told police that Calnimptewa, wearing a dark hoodie and a ski mask, came out of one of their bedrooms. She said Nechanicky confronted Calnimptewa, who pointed a gun at them. According to court documents, Nechanicky charged at Calnimptewa, and the two men got into a physical fight inside the apartment. During the fight, the woman said Calnimptewa fired his gun three times, hitting Nechanicky.

The woman told police that Calnimptewa pointed the gun at her, ordering her to open the door, which she did. She said Calnimptewa grabbed a pot of money from the counter and fled on foot.

When police arrived at the apartment, officers reported Nechanicky had multiple gunshot wounds. Documents state first responders attempted to save him, but Nechanicky died from his injuries. According to court documents, police began searching Calnimptewa and asked residents for security footage to locate him.

Officers reported finding images of Calnimptewa leaving the area wearing a hoodie and baggy pants, running up and down the stairs of the victim's apartment before and after the shooting.

“In the video, the man is first seen with a mask on his face. However, after the shooting, he is seen leaving the scene without a mask and with the pot of money attributed to him,” the documents read.

According to the documents, the officers recognized Calnimptewa’s face because they had met him before and knew he lived in the same apartment complex. The officers allegedly went to Calnimptewa’s apartment and spoke to his family, who let them in to talk to him. Police found Calnimptewa asleep in the apartment and he was taken into custody without incident.

The documents state that police interviewed Calnimptewa and his guardian. During that interview, Calnimptewa identified himself as the man seen in the surveillance footage but said he did not remember what happened that night.

During the interview, the officer noticed Calnimptewa was “burping continuously,” making it appear as though Calnimptewa had drunk an “alcoholic beverage,” according to court documents.

“(Calnimptewa) continually denied remembering the events of the night, even when confronted with the fact that a man had been murdered and that, by his own admission, he had identified himself as the person coming down the stairs of the apartment immediately after the shooting,” the documents state.

During the interview, officers searched Calnimptewa’s apartment and said they found a hoodie, mask and gloves in his bedroom. Officers said they found blood on the clothing and noted that the clothing was similar to that of the man seen in the security footage.

According to court documents, police found a jar of cash similar to the one reported stolen, two handguns, a spent shell casing and marijuana/THC vape cartridges.

The Washington County District Attorney's Office released a statement Wednesday announcing that Calnimptewa was charged as an adult and faces a possible prison sentence of 25 years to life for aggravated murder, but would not be sentenced to death or life without parole under Utah law.