Man who testified against brother released after years in jail for his part in fatal WinCo shooting

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Damian Coleman was ordered to be released on probation after spending over four years in jail and testifying against co-defendants.
His brother and half-brother were found guilty in a trial last week of murder, but not guilty of aggravated robbery.
Coleman pleaded guilty to manslaughter and aggravated robbery in 2023, the judge suspended the related prison sentences.

SALT LAKE CITY — While the other three people charged in a killing outside Winco fled the state, Damian Coleman was arrested and spending time in jail. Now, he is the first of the four to be released.

The Roy man said he was "very remorseful" and prays that what he does moving forward will be in remembrance of Romeo Charles Stevens, 27, who was shot and killed in South Salt Lake on May 9, 2022.

"I would just like to say that this has been a life-altering situation," Coleman, 32, said before being sentenced, noting that this applies to both Stevens' family and his family.

Third District Judge Amber Mettler, who last week listened to days of testimony in the jury trials for two of his co-defendants, including from Coleman, echoed his statement, saying, "This is really a tragedy all the way around."

She suspended the prison sentences for Coleman's charges — five years to life for aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, and one to 15 years for manslaughter, a second-degree felony — and instead ordered him to spend five years on probation.

Coleman pleaded guilty in July 2023 to the charges, with an agreement that he would testify against the other defendants before he was sentenced. He has now been in jail for over four years. As part of a plea deal, the charge of murder, a first-degree felony, was reduced, and a charge for obstruction of justice was dismissed.

Deputy Salt Lake County attorney John Ham said prosecutors would support an early release from probation after 30 months if he is doing well. He said under the plea deal arrangement, he could argue at this point for an additional year in jail for Coleman, but the trial for the other defendants was delayed and he believed the man had "served sufficient time."

Coleman's attorney, Rudy Bautista, said he has been productive while in jail, participating in multiple programs and is hoping to be not only crime-free but to benefit the community in the future.

He testified this month against his younger brother, Stafon Coleman Jr., and half-brother, Terrell Jones, who were each found guilty of murder but not guilty of aggravated robbery by a jury.

Damian Coleman testified that he was trying to talk Jones down that night because he was acting aggressively and that they were trying to get a debt repaid by Stevens.

Jurors found Stafon Coleman, 25, and Jones, 34, guilty of murder but not guilty of aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies.

McKennalyn Cummins testified that she was on a date with Stevens, but prosecutors claimed it was a ruse to lure him to them. She pleaded guilty after Damian Coleman to the same reduced charges of manslaughter and aggravated robbery and was sentenced to prison. She denied that she had committed those crimes in her testimony last week, saying she had since learned new information.

Stafon Coleman and Jones are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4.

Stafon Coleman's attorneys have asked for a new trial, claiming the verdict form was worded incorrectly.

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