Man charged with killing 2 in shooting outside funeral in Salt Lake claims he acted in self defense

SALT LAKE CITY — A judge ruled the man accused of killing two outside of a funeral in January has a "prima facia" claim of self defense — a low level of proof required for the first phase of a justification hearing.

This ruling raises the standard of proof prosecutors need to meet to keep the case from being dismissed, and if the case does go to trial, a jury will now be instructed to consider self defense.

Third District Judge Kristine Johnson reached the decision after hearing testimony from the man's brother, Thomas Tai, who testified he was shot before John Vea Uasike Jr. fired a gun.

"I felt the pain, I turned around, and I got shot a couple more times," he said.

He said he was in a tremendous amount of pain, but stayed conscious and saw his brother return fire.

Uasike, 31, of Elverta, California was pushed into Friday's justification hearing in a wheelchair wearing a yellow jumpsuit. His attorney, Rudy Bautista, said he is in a wheelchair because of injuries he sustained during the shooting.

He is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of firing a gun and causing serious injury, first-degree felonies; and illegal shooting of a gun and being a restricted person in possession of a gun, second-degree felonies.

The shooting occurred on Jan. 7 in the parking lot of a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 660 N. Redwood Road. Sione Vatuvei, 38, of Glendale, and Vaea Tulikihihifo, 46, were killed. Six other men were treated at local hospitals.

A new side to the story

Tai said he and two brothers, including Uasike, came to Utah to pay respects to a family member from out of town and were walking out of the church building toward their vehicle when his brother got in a confrontation with someone he didn't know.

He said the other man started the confrontation and had aggressive body language, including standing in a boxing stance. He said his brother told the man, "We're not here for that; we're just here to pay respects to the family," and was standing in a way to indicate he did not want a confrontation, but the man got more aggressive. He said his brother stood his ground and the confrontation got physical.

Tai testified that he saw the man reach for his waistband, like he was reaching for a weapon. While the man and his brother were fighting, he said he heard something drop to the ground and saw a gun. Both men in the fight reached for the gun, and Uasike got it and then disengaged from the fight, and the three brothers began heading toward their car.

At that point, Tai said he was shot once from behind, and he turned around to see where the shots came from, only to be shot three more times. He said Uasike fired back while their other brother tried to help him, and then Uasike came and got him into their car.

He then testified that he saw Uasike, who was sitting next to him, holding his chest, where he had also been shot.

While they were driving away, he said their car was hit with another shot.

Tai had not given a statement to officers; they tried while he was in the hospital, but he was not yet able to testify, and afterward he decided not to talk to them. He said his brother did not have a gun other than the one he picked up and that he had not seen that gun before.

Is there evidence of self defense?

Prosecutors argued in Friday's hearing that Bautista had not met the burden to prove there was evidence of self defense, saying Tai's testimony contradicted other evidence at the preliminary hearing.

They said the judge would need to find the testimony showing the force was necessary was credible, but instead it was "completely contradictory" to witnesses in the preliminary hearing who "consistently say" that Uasike was the first to pull out a gun.

Bautista argued that one witness at the preliminary hearing had testified that Ryan Toutai had started the fight with Uasike and that she saw shooting toward the church, which was the direction Uasike was shooting, but that she didn't know which shot came first.

He said the testimony from Tai that Uasike didn't have a weapon was logical because he came from out of town. Bautista argued the testimony supported that his client tried to de-escalate the situation and that he and his brother were shot.

Prosecutors seek to meet a new burden

After the judge ruled in favor of Uasike, prosecutors called two witnesses to seek to prove to the judge with "clear and convincing evidence" that he did not act in self defense or was not justified. If they are not able to do that, the judge will dismiss the case.

Johnson will make a ruling after Nov. 16, when the attorneys will argue their positions in court, looking at the evidence from today's hearing and written arguments from both sides.

Prosecutors called another witness who was at the church and received medical care on Friday. Johnson granted a request from that witness to allow them to testify in a closed hearing.

Bautista said after the hearing he does not believe the prosecutor's witness contradicted Tai's testimony. He said the witness's initial statement to police did contradict Tai's statements, but when he gave that statement he had been under the influence of Kava, a Polynesian drink.

That witness was grazed by a bullet while running to the church and received some medical attention, Bautista said. The witness's attorney said he did not want to testify publicly because he was afraid of gang violence.

Detective Steven Bigelow with the Salt Lake City Police Department was the second witness called by prosecutors. He testified that there were 23 shell casings found at the scene, 22 at the church and one in a SUV that left the scene, five at the church were from a 9mm gun and 17 from a .40 Smith and Wesson.

He showed on a map of the church parking lot where the casings were found and where he believes people were located.

Bigelow also pointed to surveillance video from a nearby Subway showing where he believed Uasike and Tai's car was parked and where it went.

Bautista said the video contradicts some of Tai's testimony, but supports other pieces of it. He hopes the judge will see his client was defending himself and was not involved as a criminal.

"He did not use that firearm until after he was shot at," Bautista said about Uasike.

Uasike's other brother, Ezekiel Isaiah Tai, is also charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony.

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