In the early morning hours of June 27, 2021, a heated argument in the parking lot of a Motel 6 in Midvale, Utah, escalated to a fatal shooting, claiming the life of 30-year-old Tyler Allen Williams. The male victim, from Ogden, was involved in an altercation that had been brewing throughout the night with another man.
Witnesses reported that Williams and the suspect had been arguing while drinking in a room at the motel.
The conflict spilled out into the parking lot, where Williams, at some point, armed himself with two metal stakes from a grassy area to defend himself. The confrontation reached a tragic climax when the other man pulled out a handgun.
Following the sound of a single gunshot, Williams was seen screaming and running before collapsing in the west portion of the parking lot. A blood trail marked the path from where the shooting occurred to where he fell. Despite efforts to save him, Tyler Allen Williams succumbed to his injuries and passed away early the next morning.
In the aftermath of the shooting, police identified Lorenzo DeAngelo Parker, 26, as the suspect. He was taken into custody and later booked into the Salt Lake County jail. Parker faced multiple charges, including felony discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault. According to a probable cause statement, after being secured in a patrol vehicle, Parker made statements such as, "I f∙∙∙∙ed up. I would like lethal injection. I stole the gun from my cousin." A 13-year-old was among the witnesses to the events that transpired that fatal night.
