New details released in Idaho Falls homicide

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI)- New details have been released following a homicide behind Planet Fitness Wednesday afternoon.

According to the probable cause affidavit, a 911 call came in at about 4:00 p.m., in regards to a man (later identified as Ulises Rangel) who was bleeding and not breathing in the parking lot behind Planet Fitness.

Near the spot where Rangel fell down and eventually died, a 1980 white Ford F350 was located. The registered owner is Jake Eilander.

A single shell casing, a .45 Winchester, was located near the front of the vehicle. A trail of blood was also located that led from the front of the vehicle to where Rangel had been found.

Video surveillance footage recovered from La Michoacana Ice Cream Palace revealed two individuals near or inside the F350 at approximately 3:18 p.m. About 15 minutes later, surveillance video showed a third individual, Rangel, walking toward the truck.

The affidavit reads, "An altercation between Rangel and a male dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans occurs. Rangel and the male, later identified as Jake Eilander, get into a fighting posture. Both individuals walk to the front of the F350. No physical contact is seen between the two. Rangel is then seen walking to the south of the vehicle, before walking to the back of the vehicle and then north through the parking lot.

On further surveillance footage, Rangel’s path of travel leads him behind a group of four parked cars that are to the north of Eilander’s truck. When Rangel reaches the third car he collapses. Eilander and the other individual are seen walking south through the parking lot."

Police obtained Ring doorbell footage from a nearby apartment that showed Eilander, dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans, at 3:15 p.m. in the parking lot. A witness heard a gunshot around 3:30 p.m. and went outside to investigate. The witness told officers she saw Eilander and his girlfriend walking away from the scene of the shooting.

Several hours later, at about 9:30 p.m., a tip came in that Eilander and his girlfriend were located at an apartment on St. Clair Road in Idaho Falls. The tip stated both individuals were in the unattached garage and that Eilander had a firearm on his person. IFPD detectives and officers surrounded the apartment as well as the garage. While standing outside the unattached garage, the girlfriend opened the door, was taken out, and detained.

Inside, Eilander was found sitting on the floor of the garage and was detained and removed from the building. Officers then found a loaded .45 Glock handgun near where Eilander was sitting. The ammunition in the handgun is consistent with the spent shell casing near the truck registered to Eilander.

In an interview with police, the girlfriend stated she and "Eilander had been hanging out by his truck in the parking lot when an unknown male (Ulises Rangel) approached them from the south on the path between a vinyl fence and a chain-link fence that runs behind the Clubhouse Apartments.

Eilander spoke to Ulises and Ulises became angry and verbally abusive. He and Eilander got into a heated argument" and she tried to tell them both to calm down.

She said Eilander told her to get away, and she then heard a gunshot. She said she did not see the gun and had not seen a gun or any weapon in Rangel's possession.

When asked if Eilander shot Ulises, she said she didn’t want to say anything that would incriminate Eilander. Also saying, "the only people there were her, Eilander, and the other male."

She went on to say Eilander always has a pistol on him or near him. She described his pistol as all black, which "is consistent with the Glock .45 firearm found next to Eilander at (the residence)" the probable cause affidavit reads.

Eilander is currently behind bars, with bail set at $350,000. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on April 13.