Man arrested in investigation into purse snatching and shooting in Sandy

SANDY – One person has been arrested in connection with the investigation of a robbery and shooting in Sandy.

Anthony Carranza, 18, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on Wednesday on charges of aggravated robbery and two counts of firearm use.

On Monday, a 17-year-old girl was sitting on a curb outside a store near 10450 S. State Street waiting to be picked up by her boyfriend when she noticed a vehicle with three people inside, according to a police affidavit.

A short time later, a passenger in the vehicle approached her from behind, grabbed her handbag, got back into the vehicle and drove away, the affidavit states.

The girl’s boyfriend arrived shortly afterwards and took her away. The couple then tried to follow the suspected handbag snatchers.

“(The couple) observed the vehicle at the corner of Sego Lily and Beetdigger Boulevard and took a photograph of the vehicle, which included the license plate,” the affidavit states.

The vehicle then made a U-turn and stopped in front of the couple’s car. Carranza, who was behind the wheel, “pulled a black handgun out the driver’s window and began firing,” the affidavit states. “A passenger behind the driver’s seat also pulled out a black handgun and began firing at the vehicle. Both Anthony Carranza and the unknown shooter fired approximately 11 shots. At least three of those shots struck the (couple’s) vehicle.”

No serious injuries were reported. The couple tried to escape by putting the car in reverse but crashed into a rock wall, police said. Carranza drove off and later called West Valley police, claiming his vehicle had been stolen, the affidavit said.

Investigators were able to identify Carranza by license plate number and the couple selected his picture from a list of mugshots. They arrested him in Herriman. According to the affidavit, police say Carranza has “an extensive juvenile criminal history that includes escape, burglary and weapons offenses.”

The search for the two other people who are believed to be in his car is ongoing.