On a sidewalk in Millcreek, a suburb of Salt Lake City, 32-year-old Tevita Laloni was found with a critical gunshot wound on March 30, 2020. He was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries a short time later. The ensuing investigation into the death of the male victim would soon unravel a story of conflicting statements and attempts to conceal the truth.
Initially, police responded to a 911 call from Tryana Lynn Scaramella, 27, who claimed she had discovered an unknown
man who had been shot and had collapsed outside her apartment at 229 E. Hill Ave. However, detectives uncovered surveillance footage that contradicted her story. The video showed Scaramella present while her boyfriend, Derek Algernon Little, 35, and another man dragged an unconscious Laloni out of their apartment and left him on the ground.
Little's account of the incident shifted during police interviews. He first claimed Laloni had shot himself. He then altered his story, stating that Laloni was having trouble with the slide on his handgun after removing the magazine and handed it to him for help, at which point the gun "just went off". Investigators noted that the firearm was designed in a way that would prevent it from discharging unless the trigger was fully pulled. A search of the apartment Little and Scaramella shared uncovered drug paraphernalia, a rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, a loaded 9mm magazine, a spent 9mm casing, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Three individuals were arrested in connection with Laloni's death. Derek Algernon Little was initially booked on suspicion of murder, obstruction of justice, and weapons charges. These charges were later formalized, with Little being charged with negligent homicide, three counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, and obstructing justice. Tryana Lynn Scaramella was arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. A third suspect, 23-year-old Randy Merrill Mower, was also arrested for investigation of obstruction of justice after video evidence showed him helping to carry Laloni away from the apartment before fleeing the scene. A witness also informed detectives that Mower had taken the gun from the scene.
