- Four individuals, including three teenagers, were arrested in connection with a fatal shooting.
- The incident occurred in Midvale church parking lot during an alleged drug deal.
- The victim, Mason Snowball, was shot in the chest on Sept. 18.
MIDVALE — Four people have now been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old man in a Midvale church parking lot in an apparent drug rip.
Unified police say a 15-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday for investigation of charges "related" to those of his co-defendants.
Christiano Antonio Madison, 21, of West Valley City, was arrested late last week and charged Thursday in 3rd District Court with murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies.
A 14-year-old boy was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Juvenile Court with murder and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies. KSL.com is not naming the boy at this time.
A 13-year-old boy has also been arrested in connection with the investigation.
Asked whether additional arrests were anticipated, Unified police say the investigation is ongoing.
On Sept. 18, police responded to a church parking lot near Jackson Street and La Salle Drive in Midvale, where a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu went up over a curb, through a fence and continued until it hit another fence before coming to a stop. The driver, 23-year-old Mason Snowball of West Valley City, was pronounced dead at the scene.
"While the medical examiner's office was on scene, they found that (Snowball) had a small hole in his left shirt sleeve. (His) body was rolled over and a possible gunshot wound was located on (his) left shoulder area," charging documents state.
An autopsy later revealed that Snowball "sustained a single gunshot wound that traveled from right to left. The bullet entered the back of (his) right arm, passed through into the chest cavity, exited the chest, then entered and exited the left arm. The bullet struck (his) left and right lungs and his aorta," the charges say.
Detectives searched the vehicle and reported finding THC cartridges and a 9 mm bullet embedded in the car.
A police booking affidavit for Madison further states that investigators also found "THC carts still in their boxes, and an undisclosed amount of cash inside of a wallet containing victim's driver license. (Snowball's) cellphone was also in the vehicle. His cellphone was continually ringing and receiving messages via text and from Instagram."
Detectives also conducted a search of the church parking lot "and located a 9 mm shell casing alongside the curb on the north side of the church," the juvenile charges state.
Police canvassed the area looking for surveillance video and found footage of two males walking toward the church parking lot. Another video recorded what police say sounded like a gunshot, followed by the same two males running from the parking lot.
"Additional video surveillance footage from the area captured two other individuals running south on Pioneer Street. All four males run up to the front door of a duplex located in Salt Lake County and enter the residence," the charges state.
A witness later told investigators that "(the 14-year-old) and his friends are members of a gang," and that they "were going to rob someone of their 'weed' a few hours before the incident," according to the charges, and that "they were pretending that they were going to buy from the guy."
The witness allegedly told police that when the teen and his friends returned, "they were all out of breath" and that "(the 14-year-old) told him that 'they had to shoot,'" charging documents state.
After the 14-year-old was arrested, "investigators developed information that led to serving another search warrant at a different residence in West Valley City" where the 13-year-old was located and arrested, according to police. Social media posts showing the 13-year-old wearing black Adidas helped detectives link him to the scene.
"The shoes in the photos and video surveillance footage also match a pair of shoes that were subsequently found inside (the teen's) bedroom during a search by law enforcement," charging documents state.
When the 13-year-old was located and detained by police, he was told to sit on a curb by investigators as they processed the car he was in. "Detectives observed (him) laughing and smiling. (He) reached his hands, which were handcuffed behind his back, toward the front and appeared to be throwing up gang signs. Detectives confirmed that (the teen) is a documented member," the charges say.
"Evidence has been discovered throughout the course of this investigation which links each of the suspects to the same criminal gang," the affidavit states.
Police say it was the 13-year-old who arranged the drug deal with Snowball. Madison was arrested by agents from the U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team and Salt Lake Metro Gang Unit. He was on probation at the time of the shooting for a weapons-related conviction earlier this year.
