St. George Man Arrested After Allegedly Shooting, Killing Teen Girl

ST. GEORGE, Utah – A 14-year old girl was shot in the head and killed in St. George and an 18-year old man has been arrested in connection with her death.

Officers with the St. George Police Department arrested Anthony Vega early Friday morning.

Vega was booked into jail on charges of first-degree murder, obstruction of justice, possession of a firearm by a restricted person and giving false personal information to police.

According to court documents, the shooting happened at an apartment near 600 North and 2450 East around 10:40 p.m. Thursday.

Police said a witness identified Vega as the gunman and said Vega ran from the scene.

Vega later called one of the witnesses and admitted to the shooting, according to a probable cause statement. Police said he also gave his location to the witness.

Officers later found a male matching Vega’s description and took him into custody.

“The male was lawfully asked for his name, which he stated was Tony Jones. He was asked many times over what his name was and continued to state he was Tony Jones,” police said. “He also made statements to make officers believe he was not Anthony and that Anthony was still on the run.”

Officials said the man later admitted to police that he was Vega, and he admitted to pointing the gun at the victim and pulling the trigger.

Police had not released the victim’s name.

A juvenile told officers Vega was playing with the handgun, pointing it at several people and pulling the trigger.

“Anthony later ran from the scene, taking the handgun with him, and concealed it, so as not to be found. A juvenile witness also admitted that the individuals at the home, including Anthony, were smoking marijuana prior to the incident occurring,” the probable cause statement read.