2nd man arrested in Fashion Place Mall shooting has ties to previous homicide

MURRAY — A man who was placed on probation just last month for obstructing a murder investigation is now accused of trying to do the same thing during the recent shooting at Fashion Place Mall.

Yessa Harun Nena, 20, was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of obstruction of justice and causing a riot. Nena is the second man arrested in connection with the Jan. 13 shooting.

On Tuesday, Imanuill Ahmed, 18, of Salt Lake City, was charged in 3rd District Court with eight counts of shooting a gun, obstruction of justice and causing a riot, all third-degree felonies.

Police responded to Fashion Place Mall, 6191 Fashion Blvd., after callers reported the two sides were shooting at each other.

"Multiple bullet holes were located in the east side storefront of the Container Store and some of the bullets made it through the glass and into the store," according to charging documents.

One witness told police four men were arguing with a fifth man. Two of the males in the larger group had guns, the witness told investigators.

"(He) stated the sole male had his hand in the chest bag as he was arguing across the lane. The sole male then produced a gun. (The witness) then heard shooting from the group and observed the sole male leaving in his car," according to the charges.

One male was shot in the ankle, according to police.

The group of four then ran over to a dumpster where Ahmed allegedly threw a gun under the trash container in an attempt to hide it, the charges state.

A 9mm handgun was recovered under the dumpster by police. Eight shell casings were also found in front of the Container Store.

Police say the lone male involved in the confrontation later told investigators that he was at the mall to work his job at a kiosk when he was approached by a man he didn't know. The man allegedly acted coldly to the employee, who then noticed "a group of several other males nearby who were wearing masks/hoods and had their hands in their pockets."

"(He) stated that he didn't feel safe, so he started to leave," the charges state.

The male said he walked to the parking lot and the group followed.

"(He) was in his vehicle (and) observed one of the males holding a gun to the side of his hip. (He) stated that he was concerned if he drove away they would shoot so he got out of his car to talk them down. (He) stated that when he got out of his car, they already had a gun out," according to the charges.

The employee said one of the other males "was accusing him of disrespecting a cousin and asking him about gang affiliations. During this, two of the males walked closer to (the man), and one had his gun out with his finger on the trigger and began pointing the gun at him," the court documents say.

"(He) stated at this point, he felt his life was in danger so he pulled out a gun from his chest bag and shots were fired. (He) stated initially there was a volley of shooting and then it stopped. (The male) tried to run back to his car and another person shot again, which caused (the male) to shoot back toward the Container Store," according to the charges.

A woman who observed the confrontation confirmed to detectives that she observed the lone male "protesting that he was not in the gang the group was saying he was in."

When police tracked down Ahmed and questioned him, he claimed "that the other guy shot so he shot back," and admitted he "fired the whole clip," the charges allege.

Prosecutors also noted Ahmed "was hanging out with individuals who had previous involvement with local gangs and an ongoing homicide prosecution."

According to court records, two of the people in the group with Ahmed at Fashion Place Mall have ties to the 2022 gang-related fatal shooting of Talib "Kunda" Ahmed, 18, in the parking lot of a 7-Eleven, 4051 S. State. One man was subpoenaed as a material witness to the fatal incident. Another — Nena — was convicted of obstruction of justice and placed on probation just last month.

After the shooting at the mall, Nena was questioned by police.

"He was asked what happened and told detectives he heard people talking about a shooting in the mall and ran. He also said people were running by a store named 'doused' and Dillards. Further investigation would show that this information provided by Yessa was false. Yessa was not only seen on surveillance where the shooting occurred, but also interacting with the other male who shot at them prior to the shooting itself," a police booking affidavit states.

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