Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
MIDVALE — An Alabama man was charged Wednesday with shooting and killing a man in a motel parking lot after arguing with him over the course of several hours.
Lorenzo Deanleo Parker, 26, who arrived in Utah just a month earlier from Alabama for work, is charged in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony.
On June 27, Unified police were called to Motel 6, 7263 Catalpa Street, about 3:30 a.m. on a report of a shooting. Tyler Williams, 30, was taken to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries.
A 13-year-old witness told police that the two men had been arguing "over the course of several hours," according to charging documents. The two men then physically fought for several minutes. After they were done, it appeared the confrontation was over. A second witness said the men even "reconciled with a handshake."
Williams then left the motel with another man for one to two hours. But when he returned, police say Parker was waiting for him and renewed the confrontation.
"Parker approached Williams, pulled out a handgun, and said, 'You (expletive) with the wrong person.' Parker pointed the gun at Williams and the two began to argue again," the charges state.
At some point during the confrontation, Williams was able to grab two metal stakes from the grassy area of the motel "and began to go after Parker with them," according to one witness, the charges say. "Parker made several statements that he should just kill Williams and just go to prison, while pointing the pistol at Williams. Parker pointed the gun at Williams and pulled the trigger, but it did not fire."
But after reracking the slide, Parker again pointed the gun at Williams and this time fired one shot that hit him, according to the charging documents.
"Williams began screaming and running away until he collapsed in the west portion of the parking lot," police wrote in the court documents.
Police, using surveillance video from the motel, determined that Parker had been following Williams around and antagonizing him, according to a booking affidavit. The video also allegedly shows that Williams was "backing away" when Parker pulled the trigger.
Prosecutors have requested Parker be held in the Salt Lake County Jail without bail.
