- Ryan Daniel Toutai, 32, is charged with obstructing justice in Salt Lake City.
- Toutai allegedly hindered a police investigation into the Jan. 7 church parking lot shooting that killed two men.
- He denies involvement despite evidence linking him to the crime scene and gang ties, police say.
SALT LAKE CITY — The man arrested and accused of hindering Salt Lake City police's investigation into a shootout at a funeral that claimed the lives of two men and injured six others has been charged.
Ryan Daniel Toutai, 32, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.
On Jan. 7, police responded to a report of a shooting with multiple victims in the parking lot of a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 660 N. Redwood Road just after 7:30 p.m. A funeral was going on inside the church at the time.
Sione Vatuvei, 38, of Glendale, and Vaea Tulikihihifo, 46, were killed. Six other men were taken to local hospitals.
Investigators believe there was an exchange of gunfire after two individuals who are known to each other got into a dispute. As of Tuesday, no one has been arrested and accused of directly being responsible for the killings. Police say their investigation has been hampered by a witness's refusal to talk.
Toutai was attending the funeral and was found by police "dressed in black clothing, with a black mask and wearing a blue bandanna around his neck, another blue bandanna hanging out of his pocket," according to charging documents. He was taken into custody "after physically interfering with first responders who were securing an active crime scene and conducting lifesaving measures to the shooting victims."
Toutai claimed he walked outside after giving a speech at the funeral and "saw the bodies drop," but contends "he didn't see anyone shoot the victims or know who was involved," the charges state.
Other witnesses "described a large group of males in the parking lot near a black SUV. Witnesses also said several of the males got into an argument and then gunshots were fired," according to the charges. Several witnesses gave descriptions of one of the alleged shooters that matched what Toutai was wearing and looked like. Detectives also found multiple shell casings around a blue LA Dodgers baseball hat that matched one Toutai was seen wearing, the charges state.
Toutai was questioned by police against on Jan. 13 and "denied involvement in the shooting, stating he did not fire a gun, did not possess a gun, and did not touch a gun or ammunition. Toutai stuck to his original statement about his involvement," according to the charges.
Detectives, however, obtained a search warrant for Toutai's cellphone and found two videos from Dec. 4 of Toutai holding a gun that matched the one found in the church parking lot, the charges state. Other videos collected by police "show Toutai driving a vehicle towards the location of the church, even though Toutai told detectives he took an Uber to the church. The videos showed Toutai walking behind two individuals who were identified by witnesses as being involved in the shooting and both of whom received gunshot wounds. The vehicle Toutai is seen driving in toward the church, was found in the church parking lot," according to charging documents. "Multiple witnesses put Toutai at the scene and stated that he was involved in the altercation and the shooting in the church parking lot. It was alleged that Toutai had a conflict with another male in the parking lot that led to the altercation and shooting."
Despite being confronted with the evidence collected, Toutai "continued to claim that he was not involved in the incident, didn't touch any guns, and did not see who fired the shots. However, multiple videos obtained by detectives showed the defendant in and around the church and parking lot where the shooting happened," the charges state. "(He) was given multiple opportunities to discuss his involvement, but he continues to deny having any involvement, contrary to the evidence," prosecutors say in their charges.
Tautai allegedly has ties to a gang with a long history in Salt Lake City, "and was at the funeral dressed in gang colors and attire," the charges state.
