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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — A Salt Lake City man wanted in connection with a Taylorsville homicide in December was arrested in California Tuesday morning, police said.
Unified police said Shaun Eugene Fleming, 36, was arrested by Palm Springs police. The Palm Springs officers said they arrested him at a Motel 6 shortly before 9:45 a.m. PST Tuesday. Police said Fleming originally gave officers false identification before he was identified as Fleming.
He was arrested without incident.
Fleming was charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with first-degree murder and related charges in connection with the shooting death of Toussaint "TJ" L'Ouverture Tyler Jr., 30, on Dec. 10.
Prosecutors say Fleming, Tonita Vianay Rico, 49, of Ogden, and another unknown man have been connected with the shooting. Rico was also charged with murder in the case.
Prosecutors allege Rico knocked on Tyler's door while Fleming and another man hid. When Tyler's girlfriend opened it, the men forced their way inside while Fleming, put her in a chokehold and pointed a gun at her head, according to charging documents. Police said the men then bound the woman and another couple with duct tape and threatened to shoot Tyler's 4-year-old daughter if the woman lied about who else was in the apartment.
The men then entered the master bedroom and forced Tyler from the shower, according to the charges.
"While they were holding the 4-year-old, the men told Mr. Tyler to open the safe. A struggle ensued and Mr. Tyler was shot," the charges state. An autopsy determined that Tyler was shot at close range to the chest and the back of his head, according to the documents.
The charges also stated officers found cash and marijuana and two shell casings in the home.
Rico was arrested on Dec. 13. The second man has not yet been identified.
