Man charged with attempted murder

A preliminary hearing on April 25 in Hot Springs Circuit Court is scheduled for Hugo A. Luna, who faces felony charges of first-degree attempted murder and kidnapping.

According to court documents, on Friday, April 13, just after 8:30 a.m. the Hot Springs County Sheriff's Office was notified that a passerby had located an injured female subject near mile marker 15 on Highway 120. The driver transported the subject to Hot Springs County Memorial Hospital.

Investigators learned the subject was assaulted, noting injuries to her face and neck. The subject said she was assaulted by a Hispanic male she knew as Hugo Michael, but who was later identified as Hugo Armando Luna Aguero. She also provided a description of Luna and his vehicle, which was a yellow tractor trailer pulling a white cargo box trailer.

At 11:15 a.m., and agent with DCI interviewed the woman, during which he observed a laceration of about 10 centimeters to the middle of her forehead, and swelling and lacerations to the right side of her forehead that appeared to be due to blunt force trauma and/or a sharp cutting instrument. She also had a laceration about 12 centimeters in length to the left side of her neck that appeared to be from a sharp cutting tool.

The agent also observed ligature marks on the right side of the woman's neck and hemorrhaging and blood spots in her right eye indicative of strangulation.

During her interview, the woman said she had been traveling with Luna for about a month. He had offered her $200 or $300, she said, to travel with him for eight days. Two days prior to the assault, she said, Luna stole all of her money but denied it. A day prior to the incident he stole her phone, which he also denied.

The woman became suspicious of Luna when he was not stopping in populated areas and not allowing her to use her phone. When she said she needed to go to the bathroom, he pulled over on the side of the road, never at a rest stop or gas station. She also noticed a substantial amount of blood on the mattress in the sleeping area of the tractor trailer, but when she asked Luna about it he became nervous and did not answer. She further noted he changed the settings on the truck's GPS from English to Spanish, which she believes was an attempt to hide their location.

In the early morning of Friday, April 13, she asked Luna to stop so she could go to the bathroom. He pulled over, possibly close to mile marker 15 on Highway 120. As she exited, she noticed he entered the rear sleeper area of the truck.

After getting back in, she said, he wrapped an unknown object around her throat from behind and began strangling her.

The woman said she lost consciousness and woke up in a ditch at mile marker 15. Realizing she was injured, she walked up the hill and flagged down a vehicle, whose driver stopped and transported her to the hospital. The driver also informed law enforcement of where he picked her up.

At about 9 a.m. the same day, the sheriff's office and Wyoming Highway Patrol arrived at mile marker 15 and secured the area. The scene was processed by DCI, and agents noted tire impressions, footprints, drag marks and blood.

At 10:03 a.m. a tractor trailer matching the description provided was located in Powell and a male subject inside was identified as Luna. Though Luna denied having a female passenger in his truck, besides one he had dropped off in Salt Lake City, WHP troopers and Powell police officers observed he had a purse in his truck containing the victim's license. There was also what appeared to be blood on his right shoe and potential blood splatter observed on the sleeves of the jacket he was wearing at the time of his arrest.

Court documents say prints at the crime scene matched Luna's shoes and tire impressions matched the truck's tires. The victim was also shown his picture and confirmed it was him.

Luna is being held on a $500,000 cash bond, and if found guilty of the charges he faces a maximum of the death penalty or life in prison - with or without parole - and fines of $20,000.