A 19-year-old southern Utah man has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in the shooting death of his neighbor inside a Washington County apartment, bringing a year-old homicide case closer to its conclusion.
Simeon Gil Calnimptewa admitted on June 9 that he shot 33-year-old Bransen Bryels-Nechanicky after entering the neighboring unit in the early morning hours of June 30, 2024. The guilty plea resolves a case that has been under investigation since the late-night confrontation.
Plea terms and next steps
According to KSL, Calnimptewa pleaded guilty on June 9 to aggravated murder and aggravated assault as part of a plea agreement that dismissed 10 other felony counts.
Under the deal, prosecutors agreed to recommend concurrent sentences and to allow him to be housed in a juvenile secure care facility until he turns 25. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 5 in 5th District Court, where a judge will decide whether to follow those recommendations.
How police say the shooting unfolded
Police were called to 20 N. Red Trail Lane shortly after 2 a.m. on June 30, 2024, after a man was found shot inside his apartment, authorities said.
Reporting by KDXU says the victim and a woman returned home around 1:45 a.m., found several belongings piled in the living room, and then saw a masked man walk out of a bedroom.
Officers say surveillance and doorbell footage helped identify the suspect. Investigators later found a jar of money, a mask, and gloves with blood in the suspect’s apartment before arresting him while he was sleeping that morning.
Legal limits on punishment for juvenile offenders
Under Utah law, aggravated murder can carry the death penalty, life without parole, or an indeterminate term of at least 25 years to life; see Utah Code §76-5-202 and related sentencing provisions.
The plea notes that because Calnimptewa was 17 at the time of the shooting, he cannot be sentenced to death or life without the possibility of parole, leaving the statutory 25-years-to-life range as the applicable maximum under the agreement, per KSL. The judge at sentencing will decide whether to accept the prosecutors’ recommendations and the juvenile placement terms.
Context and what comes next
Bransen Bryels-Nechanicky’s death was cataloged in Deseret News' review of Utah’s 2024 homicides, part of broader local coverage that tracked a high share of gun-related killings statewide.
The case remains set for an Aug. 5 sentencing hearing in 5th District Court, where a judge will rule on the plea package and the recommended sentence.
