In the late afternoon of August 12, 2020, a verbal dispute in the streets of Salt Lake City escalated into a fatal encounter for 49-year-old Luis Melendez, a Hispanic male. The incident occurred near 54 E. Harrison Ave. where Melendez was reportedly engaged in an argument with two other men. According to a witness, the argument grew heated, culminating in one of the suspects raising a handgun and firing a single shot at Melendez's head.
Melendez, who was with his bicycle, fell to the ground in the middle of the street. Responding officers from the Salt Lake City Police Department arrived at approximately 5:20 p.m. to find Melendez and attempted to revive him, but their efforts were unsuccessful.
The investigation into the shooting led police to identify Siosiua Tonga Ositamani, 24, as the primary suspect. An anonymous tip pointed detectives in his direction, and surveillance footage from a nearby convenience store, the Fastrac, appeared to match photos of Ositamani. Video evidence from a residence on Major Street also showed the shooter getting into the passenger side of a black Mitsubishi Eclipse after the incident. The driver of the vehicle later told investigators that he gave the suspect a ride to get him out of the neighborhood and also picked up the second suspect nearby. After locating Ositamani, he was brought in for questioning and, after being read his Miranda rights, confessed to the shooting. He stated that he and a friend had gotten into an argument with Melendez and that he felt "belittled" by the conversation, which prompted him to pull out his gun and fire once.
Following his confession, Ositamani was arrested and charged with murder and aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies, as well as obstructing justice, a second-degree felony. He was subsequently booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and held without bail. The aggravated robbery charge stemmed from the allegation that Ositamani took the victim's phone after the shooting and later disposed of it in a garbage can. While one suspect was in custody, police continued to seek the public's help in identifying the second individual involved in the altercation. Authorities released images of a person of interest wearing a "Raiders" hat, who was seen on surveillance video with Ositamani. The second suspect, however, was not immediately identified.
