The man accused of fatally shooting University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe pleaded guilty to murder charges on Monday, more than two years after police say he killed the cornerback outside a rowdy house party in Salt Lake City.
Buk Mawut Buk, now 25, pleaded guilty to Lowe’s murder and the attempted murder of a woman injured in the shooting on Sept. 26, 2021, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said.
Police say he fired multiple shots at the two during a heated argument after the football player asked Buk’s friends to move their car.
Buk Mawut Buk pleaded guilty to murdering University of Utah football player Aaron Lowe. Fox 13 News
As Lowe, 21, and Fuamoli Pomale, 20, lay on the ground bleeding, witnesses watched in horror as Buk continued to shoot at them, according to court documents.
Advertisement
Buk is scheduled for sentencing on April 29 and faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in Utah State Prison.
In exchange for pleading guilty, the judge dismissed additional charges of obstruction of justice and possession of a weapon by a restricted person, since he was already on probation.
Buk fired shots at Aaron Lowe after he got into a heated argument with him over the football player asking one of his friends to move their car, according to police. University of Utah
“Though perfect justice would mean that Mr. Lowe was alive and the other victim did not have to live with injuries that will last a lifetime, we hope this conviction helps the loved ones of Mr. Lowe and the second victim feel they have received some measure of justice,” Gill said Monday.
The sophomore cornerback’s death came less than a year after his teammate Ty Jordan died of an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound on Christmas night in 2020.
The two had been high school friends and football teammates in their hometown of Mesquite, Texas, before they came to play for Utah. Lowe switched his college jersey to Jordan’s No. 22 after the running back’s death and was the first recipient of a memorial scholarship established in his honor.
Advertisement
Buk Mawut Buk faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in Utah State Prison. Salt Lake County jail
About nine months after Jordan’s death, the Utes again mourned for one of their own after an off-campus house party meant to celebrate their win over Washington State erupted into violence.
Uninvited guests, including Buk, showed up to the private party and began causing commotion, police said.
Lowe and Pomale tried to leave the party just after midnight but found their car blocked by another vehicle.
Aaron Lowe’s death came less than a year after his teammate Ty Jordan died of an accidental, self-inflicted gunshot wound on Christmas night in 2020. AP
As they argued with a group of men who refused to move their car, Buk walked across the street to retrieve a gun from another man and began shooting, court documents state.
Lowe died at the scene. The Utah State Medical Examiner’s Office later recovered four bullets from his body, according to the autopsy.
Advertisement
Pomale survived after receiving emergency surgery for multiple gunshot wounds to her neck and chest.
Buk, arrested that October in Draper, was already on probation for two robberies, including one in which authorities say he robbed a father and daughter at gunpoint.
Salt Lake City police said at the time of his arrest for the shootings that Buk had an “extensive violent criminal history” dating back to at least 2017.
The idea for Rize Sweet Rollz dates back five years, when founder Casey Vanderhoef was serving time in prison.
Vanderhoef began developing the concept while incarcerated, using that time to think through both the product and the purpose. Since his release last July, Vanderhoef has turned that vision into a growing business.
His company now makes a point to hire people who were formerly incarcerated, offering what Vanderhoef calls a critical first step after release.
Read more: https://ksltv.com/?p=911964 —-
Advertisement
Socials for KSL TV: Posts by KSL5TV https://www.facebook.com/ksltv https://www.instagram.com/kslnews/
Socials for KSL NewsRadio: Posts by kslnewsradio https://www.facebook.com/KSLNewsradio/ https://www.instagram.com/ksl_newsradio/
Like many utilities in the Trump era, Rocky Mountain Power is pulling back on its renewable energy plans. But more than a dozen Utah communities are taking matters into their own hands.
About 300,000 homes and businesses will soon be part of a novel, bottom-up program to bring new clean power to the state’s fossil-fuel-heavy grid. The Utah Renewable Communities initiative allows city and county governments to offset their electricity use with 100 percent renewable power, backed by a $4 monthly bill surcharge.
“There’s no other program available to our residents that is this affordable or this impactful to Midvale’s environmental and economic future,” said Dustin Gettel, mayor of the Salt Lake City suburb of Midvale.
Advertisement
Midvale is set to vote Tuesday on whether to join 15 other communities that have signed up ahead of an enrollment deadline next week. Three other eligible communities have opted out, although one may reconsider.