SALT LAKE CITY—Salt Lake City Police Department Homicide Detectives today arrested two people in the July 19, 2009, homicide of Krystal Flores and the attempted homicide of a 23-year-old male.
Officers arrested:
· Pailate Lomu (7/1/89) on second-degree felony charges of homicide and obstruction of justice, as well as first-degree felony charges of discharge of a firearm with serious bodily injury and aggravated burglary.
· Shannon Moala (3/6/78) on obstruction of justice in the Flores homicide, as well as two counts of possession of another’s identification documents and one count of forgery unrelated to the case—all third-degree felonies.
Homicide Detectives believe that Moala and Lomu were significant players in the group of gang members that went to the wrong house looking for rival gang members during the early morning hours of July 19, resulting in the homicide of Flores. It is clear that Flores and her family were not the intended targets, nor were they gang members.
Homicide Detectives also believe other parties were involved in this case and hope that people will continue to come forward and provide the information necessary to bring them to justice.
Furthermore, Homicide Detectives ask the public to come forward with information regarding two other gang-involved homicides:
· 2007-33206, gang members shot and killed victim Solomone Tuifua during a party at 1540 S. 900 W. on February 24, 2007.
· 2007-101949, gang members gunned down victim Villiami Latu in his driveway at 1815 W. Sir Jeffrey Circle on June 7, 2007.
Many times gang-involved crimes involve the same group of people and their associates, therefore it is a possibility that individuals who know something about the Flores case also may know something about similar homicides.
Salt Lake City Police Department offers up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of homicide suspects. To report criminal behavior, call (801) 799-INFO (4636) to obtain a confidential number. Confidential emails may be sent to tipsforcash@slcgov.com.
