- Nathaniel Douglas Stockton, 36, was arrested for investigation of murder in the death of Steve Gus Kallas.
- Kallas, 58, was found dead near a Salt Lake grocery store Sunday.
- Police say they linked Stockton to the crime scene using surveillance video and GPS data.
SALT LAKE CITY — Salt Lake police have made an arrest in connection with the shooting death of a man whose body was found lying near a sidewalk early Sunday.
Nathaniel Douglas Stockton, 36, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail Wednesday evening for investigation of aggravated murder, attempted aggravated arson, 10 counts of shooting a gun, drug possession and possession of a gun by a restricted person.
The body of 58-year-old Steve Gus Kallas was found just after 5 a.m. Sunday on the east side of a Smith's grocery store between the sidewalk and park strip at 2131 S. Lincoln Street. His death was originally called "suspicious" by police who later announced his death was being treated as a homicide.
Emergency responders found Kallas "holding a can of pepper spray," according to a police booking affidavit. As fire crews started life-saving efforts on Kallas, they found "an injury to his upper left chest consistent with either a stab or gunshot wound. A fired bullet slug was also found in the victim's clothing."
Kallas was found lying next to an RV parked on Lincoln Street that was his, police noted in the affidavit.
"Multiple gunshot defects were found on the driver's side, spanning the length of the RV. Multiple .22 caliber shell casings were found in the street just outside the driver's side of the RV. Also found in the street just outside the driver's side of the RV was a broken glass bottle with a piece of clothing. Both the ground beneath the broken bottle and the piece of clothing were saturated with an unknown liquid. Salt Lake City fire arson investigators responded to the scene and confirmed these items were consistent with a Molotov cocktail," the affidavit states.
Earlier that morning, witnesses reported hearing a fight and gunshots sometime between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. in the same area. Police originally said they did not know if the gunshots and Kallas' death were related. But after reviewing surveillance video from a nearby business on Monday, police say they observed a car pull up near the RV.
"A single occupant is observed exiting the vehicle and approaching the RV at 3:33 a.m. when multiple shots are fired into the RV. A person is then observed running back to the Toyota Camry, where it appears that a person is possibly attempting to light a Molotov cocktail," the affidavit states.
Kallas is then seen in the video running across the street toward the person in the car and appears to deploy bear spray. The person in the car fires several more shots and Kallas runs back towards the RV, according to the arrest report.
Detectives investigating the shooting learned that Kallas owed money to Stockton from a drug debt and that Stockton had made threats to Kallas, including "burning down the RV," the affidavit alleges.
Investigators then learned that Stockton drove a car similar to the one seen in the video, and that another police agency, which had been investigating him in a separate case, had placed a GPS tracking device on the car. Using data from the tracker and Stockton's cellphone data, Salt Lake police were able to place Stockton at the scene of the shooting, the affidavit says.
Stockton was located Wednesday in a parking lot near 7800 South and 2700 West and was arrested.
"A search warrant was served on the vehicle at the time of arrest, and detectives located a Ruger .22 rifle near the rear seat. A .38 Smith and Wesson revolver was located under the driver's seat of the vehicle as well. This firearm is consistent with evidence located at the scene of the homicide," police said.
When questioned, Stockton admitted he was upset with Kallas for owing him money, but denied being at the homicide scene despite what the evidence collected by police showed.
"Nathaniel did not have an explanation of how that was possible, although he did state that he may have been up in the area as he consumes narcotics that cause him to go days without sleep, so his memory of the last few days isn't good as to where he has been," according to the affidavit.
Police say Stockton is homeless and sleeps at various motels.
