EVANSTON — After a four-day trial last week and several hours of deliberation on Friday, April 21, a Uinta County jury found Ogden, Utah, resident Esmeralda Patino guilty of four counts of aggravated assault in relation to the 2022 stabbings of Pablo Escalante and David Perez, both of Evanston.

A Third District Court affidavit by Evanston Police Department detective Scott Faddis states that officers responded to a quinceanera at the Evanston Machine Shop at 12:09 a.m. on June 26 of last year, reportedly due to calls concerning the stabbing of a male.

Sgt. Chad Liechty allegedly noticed a group of people running away from him, toward the Machine Shop. Another group had gathered in the parking lot around Escalante, who was lying on the asphalt near the Machine Shop entrance with blood on his midsection and on the ground beneath him. An ambulance arrived shortly thereafter.

Raul Saavedra reportedly told Liechty of a second victim, who he said had run toward the Machine Shop “with his guts hanging out.” Liechty was unable to find this victim. Officer Ryan Nelsen reportedly found Perez sitting in an unknown vehicle, applying pressure to stab wounds on his side. Liechty also noticed a stab wound on Perez’s arm. An ambulance quickly arrived to transport Perez to Evanston Regional Hospital.

Saavedra reportedly told Liechty the fight had begun near an L shaped fence at the entrance of the Machine Shop, when several people were fighting with an unidentified suspect, identified as a “big male wearing a pink shirt,” who broke a beer bottle before the fight progressed toward the parking lot. Another suspect, later identified as Patino, then stabbed Escalante and Perez.

Officer James Schmidt reported to the scene, and was assigned to Evanston Regional Hospital, where the victims were receiving treatment for their wounds. While en route, Schmidt was informed that Perez was entering a LifeFlight helicopter on the way to Salt Lake City. By the time Schmidt arrived, Perez was airborne, and Escalante was in surgery.

ER doctor Steven Flynn told Schmidt both victims’ injuries matched stabbings with a knife, too clean to have been left by a bottle or serrated blade. Flynn added that both Perez and Escalante had multiple stab wounds. Perez, being the most stable, was the first to be transferred. Escalante had a punctured lung, and Flynn was worried the stabber may have nicked Escalante’s liver.

Later that day, Schmidt and Faddis traveled to Salt Lake City in order to speak with Perez and Escalante. Perez told the officers a female had stabbed him. When presented with video footage, he identified a woman wearing a black shirt as the perpetrator. Another person involved in the fight, a male wearing a pink shirt and black undershirt, was also identified.

Perez said he had been stabbed six times: “once in the left buttocks, twice in the back and once in the chest and left forearm,” according to the affidavit. One wound had hit his spleen, which was removed, and another had damaged his lower left lung. Escalante was intubated, and thus unable to speak.

Escalante’s sister, Anahi Escalante, notified officers that Escalante had been stabbed “twice in the right rib area and once in the right side back.” One of the wounds had caused Escalante’s lung to collapse.

Sgt. Shawn Stahl sent photos of the two suspects to the Utah Department of Public Safety Statewide Information and Analysis Center, hoping to identify the suspects with facial recognition software. The female photo came back as a 93.55% match to Patino, and the male was identified as Isaac Ayala, with a 99.36% match.

Ayala pleaded no contest to breach of peace earlier this month. He was sentenced to 180 days in the Uinta County Detention Center, which was suspended. He owes $320 in fines, the entirety of which is due by Sept. 1.

After finding Patino and Ayala on Facebook, officers discovered the two are siblings. On June 27, Anahi Escalante informed Faddis that she had a name for the stabbing suspect. In a text message, she identified the stabber as Patino.

On June 28, Faddis and other officers responded to the EPD training room, where victim advocate Vanessa Weekly and Anahi Escalante had gathered. Anahi Escalante said she knew the family throwing the quinceanera had asked relatives to wear pink, and she had found a picture of Ayala wearing a pink shirt. She then searched for Facebook relations, eventually locating Ayala, then Patino.

Patino was charged with four counts of aggravated assault, and her trial took place from Tuesday-Friday, April 18-21. After her conviction Friday, Patino was booked by the Uinta County Sheriff’s Office, and she now awaits a sentencing hearing at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, June 9, in the Third District Court. Patino faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison and $40,000 in fines.