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Tyson Yellowbear said he didn't even realize he had fatally shot Danny Tapuaialupe on the night of March 28, 2006.
Yellowbear on Tuesday claimed to members of the state's Board of Pardons and Parole the shooting came after he brought a half-ounce of methamphetamine to sell to a woman who rented an apartment at 3522 S. 500 East in South Salt Lake. Tapuaialupe and Pesio Vaeluaga were present at the apartment the night Yellowbear visited.
He was told to walk into a back bedroom to complete the transaction when he says Tapuaialupe tried to rob him. When Yellowbear pulled out his 9 mm handgun, he told the board, it discharged. Tapuaialupe left the room, eventually leaving the house and dying from the single bullet that severed his aorta.
Yellowbear also told the board he wasn't the one who shot Vaeluaga in the back of the head that night. Vaeluaga survived the shooting, but has suffered permanent damage to his vision, balance and memory.
Yellowbear pleaded to amended counts of criminal homicide and aggravated assault in connection with the shootings. Board member Robert Yeates said the trial judge determined Yellowbear was indeed responsible for the shootings and that Yellowbear's version of events conflicted with other witnesses' statements.
Yellowbear, 26, said he joined the Qvo gang at age 13 and quickly began using alcohol and drugs.
While serving his sentence, Yellowbear severely beat a fellow inmate and has been housed in a higher-security section of the prison that has prevented him from entering any treatment programs.
Tapuaialupe's former fiancée, Davina Roan, told the board Yellowbear needs to spend more time in prison to rehabilitate.
"I feel sorry for your life, that you are missing out on your family, but we're missing our Danny and he doesn't have the opportunity to have a family," she said. "I hope you can be a father to your children and a husband to your wife, that you can make up for what has been lost."
Yellowbear said he has spent his time in prison reflecting on his actions, but told the board even he believes he must "spend more time in prison to rehabilitate, to live a better life for my two children."
Yellowbear's sons, ages 5 and 6, attended the hearing with their mother.
"I came from a broken family, my father was never there for me, and now my sons are going through what I went through," Yellowbear said. "I don't want them to go through that."
The board will issue its decision at a later date. A simple majority determines whether a prisoner is paroled, released or continues a sentence.