Man crashes wedding, then shoots couple’s son dead, Utah officials say

A 23-year-old has been found guilty in a shooting at a wedding that left a man dead, Utah officials said.

In November 2021, Guillermo William Herrera and two others, all associated with the Dogtown gang, showed up to a wedding in Midvale, according to an Aug. 25 news release by the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.

Friends and family confronted the group and asked them to leave, prosecutors said.

Herrera left the building and waited outside before the two others “exited, shouting their gang name and arguing with the partygoers,” prosecutors said.

Eventually, Herrera pulled out a gun, and the newly married couple’s son, Oscar Avila Jr., rushed him, prosecutors said.

A video showed Herrera pistol-whipping Avila and shooting him in the chest, killing him, prosecutors said.

“Weddings are meant to be a time of celebration for all those in attendance, and instead the defendant decided to turn this one into a tragedy. Our hearts go out to the family of Mr. Avila and hope that this conviction helps them start to heal from the devastation of his death,” Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in the release.

On Aug. 22, Herrera was found guilty of murder, possession of a firearm by a restricted person, obstructing justice and aggravated assault, prosecutors said.

He is scheduled to be sentenced in October, the release said.

Midvale is about a 10-mile drive south from Salt Lake City.