- Ezekiel Isaiah Tai, 22, was charged Monday with obstruction of justice.
- Tai, from California, allegedly cleaned an SUV linked to a double killing.
- The SUV was involved in a church parking lot shooting on Jan. 7, according to police.
SALT LAKE CITY — A California man was charged Monday with not cooperating in the ongoing investigation into a double killing at a Salt Lake church parking lot while a funeral was happening inside.
Ezekiel Isaiah Tai, 22, is charged in 3rd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. Prosecutors say Tai is from Newark, California, but frequently stays in Utah.
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. Sione Vatuvei, 38, of Glendale, and Vaea Tulikihihifo, 46, were killed. Six other men were taken to local hospitals.
"Multiple expended cartridge casings and a handgun were recovered from the scene," according to charging documents.
As of Monday, no one has been arrested and directly accused of being a gunman in the shooting. Salt Lake police say witnesses have not been cooperating with detectives.
After the shooting, witnesses said a black SUV left the parking lot. A short time later, a GMC Yukon XL arrived at University of Utah Hospital, and two of the shooting victims were dropped off.
"Video surveillance at the hospital captured two additional males who stepped out of the Yukon to assist the two wounded males. The Yukon then drove away," the charges state. "Through subsequent investigation, the GMC Yukon was identified and traced to an address in West Jordan."
On Wednesday, police served a search warrant at the residence and seized the SUV. "Evidence obtained from the Yukon confirmed that it was involved in the shooting," the charges state.
Tai, who police say is the younger brother of the two gunshot victims who were dropped off at the hospital, was also at the residence. All three men have ties to a gang with a long history in Salt Lake City, prosecutors say.
Witnesses told investigators that following the shootings, Tai was seen in the garage of the West Jordan residence cleaning the SUV.
"The license plates had also been removed from the Yukon, as was the OnStar GPS locator device on the rearview mirror. The license plate and OnStar device were located inside the garage, where Tai was observed cleaning the Yukon. A search of the Yukon revealed reddish-brown stains believed to be blood and obvious cleaning swipe residue," the charges allege.
The shoes that police believe Tai was wearing that night were also recovered and "had reddish-brown stains on them consistent with blood," according to the charges.
The week before Tai's arrest, Ryan Daniel Toutai, 32, was also arrested and later charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, for allegedly hindering the police investigation into the shooting.
