Utah
4 charged in connection with killing near Utah grocery store
Police examine a deadly capturing close to the parking zone of a South Salt Lake WinCo retailer, 2193 S. Fundamental, on Might 10. Police later recognized the deceased as Romeo Charles Stevens, 27, and 4 individuals have been charged with homicide Friday in connection together with his murder. (Mengshin Lin, Deseret Information)
Estimated learn time: 3-4 minutes
SOUTH SALT LAKE — Felony expenses have been filed towards 4 individuals in reference to the deadly capturing of a person throughout an alleged theft try in a South Salt Lake grocery retailer parking zone.
McKennalyn Elizabeth Cummins, 24, of Portage, Terell Jones, 30, of Roy, Stafon Dshawn Coleman, 21, of Roy, and Damian Stafon Coleman Jr., 27, of Roy, have been every charged Friday in third District Court docket with homicide and aggravated theft, each first-degree felonies; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.
On Might 9, Romeo Charles Stevens, 27, was shot a number of instances and killed close to the parking zone at WinCo, 2193 S. Fundamental. His physique was discovered on Fundamental Avenue close to the doorway to the shop. The primary arriving officers observed at the least two bullet wounds in Stevens’ physique, in keeping with charging paperwork. An post-mortem later decided he was shot thrice.
Investigators collected surveillance video from the shop and noticed Stevens and Cummins enter the WinCo collectively. At one level, Stevens exited the shop, went again to his automotive, after which went again inside. After he did that, two automobiles pulled into the lot and parked a couple of stalls away from Stevens’ automotive the fees state.
Jones and each Colemans acquired out of their automobiles and crouched down behind one other automotive. When Stevens exited the shop once more and walked again to his automotive, the three males stood up.
“Stevens seemed on the defendants and took off working by means of the parking zone,” charging paperwork state.
Jones and Stafon Coleman ran after Stevens as Damian Coleman acquired again into one of many automobiles and drove after them, the fees state. Police say there was a battle on the street adopted by “a number of muzzle flashes” which investigators noticed on surveillance video.
Stafon, Coleman and Jones have been then picked up by Damian Coleman and the three drove off.
After responding to the scene, police observed that Cummins was nonetheless within the driver’s seat of the second car that had entered the parking zone. Cummins claimed she met Stevens on Snapchat and agreed to go on a date with him, the fees state. She claimed they have been going to get meals, however all of the eating places have been closed so that they determined to get meals at WinCo to take again to Stevens’ condominium.
When investigators questioned how her automotive ended up within the WinCo parking zone, Cummins claimed she had left the keys within the automotive and parked it at Stevens’ condominium, after which “requested a homeless male, whom she met on Snapchat” to drive her automotive to her, in keeping with the fees. After dropping off her automotive on the parking zone, Cummins claimed the person blocked her on Snapchat, the fees state.
Utilizing data collected from the shop, together with surveillance video of the automotive the boys drove away in and its license plate, Damian Coleman was arrested in Weber County on Might 11.
When questioned by police, Coleman acknowledged that he and his stepbrother, Jones, and his brother, Stafon Coleman, had made a plan to rob Stevens and that Cummins assist arrange the theft, in keeping with the fees. When Stevens got here out of the shop, Damian Coleman mentioned he did not run after him “as a result of it wasn’t purported to ‘go down’ like that,” the fees state.
On Monday, police introduced they have been searching for the three excellent suspects within the case and that they need to be thought-about “armed and harmful.” Charging paperwork state that police imagine the three have both fled the state “or at the least gone into hiding to keep away from arrest.”