On a Saturday evening in Salt Lake City, a young Hispanic man named Eric Padilla, 18, was spending time with friends. On September 17, 2016, he was at the Sky Harbor Apartments, located near 1820 West and North Temple, visiting a friend. Padilla and two other people were in a bedroom playing video games when a knock came at the door around 9 p.m. When the door was opened, the night took a violent and tragic turn.
A man forced his way into the apartment, grabbing the person who answered
the door by the neck and brandishing a large silver revolver. The intruder, demanding they "Give me everything you got," was intent on robbery. As the men moved into the bedroom, the assailant shot Eric Padilla once in the head. The sudden violence was allegedly a result of the gunman being surprised by Padilla's movement. Following the shooting, the intruder stole a package of marijuana and around $500 in cash before fleeing the scene. When police officers arrived, they found the young man deceased inside the residence. The other occupants of the apartment were not physically harmed.
The Salt Lake City Police Department began an immediate investigation. An initial description of the shooter was of a male in dark clothing who fled on foot. Investigators utilized surveillance video from the apartment complex which proved crucial in identifying a suspect. A witness inside the apartment also recognized the gunman, whose bandana kept slipping from his face during the robbery, as a man named "Landon." This information led police to 20-year-old Landon Kavani Johnson, who admitted during questioning that he had purchased marijuana from that same apartment in the past.
Just five days after the murder, on September 22, 2016, Landon Kavani Johnson was arrested. He was found in possession of items taken during the fatal home invasion. Johnson was charged with murder and aggravated robbery. In March 2017, he pleaded guilty to murder in a deal with prosecutors which saw other charges against him dismissed. Two months later, in May 2017, Johnson was sentenced to a term of 15 years to life in prison for the killing of Eric Padilla.
