An Arizona man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday for the shooting deaths of two women outside a Holbrook courthouse two years ago, according to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office.

Salomon Diaz, 48, of Snowflake-Taylor, was sentenced to consecutive 25-year terms for the fatal shooting of  Ashley Utley, 25, the mother of his two grandchildren, and her mother, Sherry Quintero-Davenport, 45, outside Navajo County Superior Court in Holbrook on June 28, 2016.

Diaz had pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to two consecutive 25-year terms for each murder charge, 15 years for the latter charge, which will be served concurrent to the other sentences.

The aggravated-assault charge stemmed from the shooting and wounding of Angela Chambers, his grandchildren’s aunt.

The shootings occurred after a custody hearing to decide who would care for Diaz’s grandchildren, Utley or Diaz’s son, Jessie Diaz. Utley and Jessie Diaz previously were involved in a relationship in Gallup, New Mexico.

Salomon’s wife, Mary Diaz, told The Arizona Republic prior to the sentencing that she and her husband were at the courthouse to testify along with other family members to prevent Utley from gaining full custody of the two boys.

Mary Diaz alleged the children had been abused by Utley.

However, Brad Carlyon, Navajo County attorney, told The Republic there was no evidence the woman abused the children.

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