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Two men charged with mistakenly killing a woman two years ago when vengeful gang members burst into the wrong Salt Lake City home have been ordered to stand trial.
After a preliminary hearing, 3rd District Judge Deno Himonas said Friday he found "ample probable cause" to believe Alexander Bloomfield, 30, and Pailate K. Lomu, 21, were involved in the slaying of 21-year-old Krystal Flores in the early hours of July 19, 2009.
Defense attorneys pointed to problems with eyewitness identification, and questions about who actually entered the home at 1309 S. Stewart St. (1500 West), where Flores was sleeping on a couch.
But Himonas said the evidence shows Bloomfield, Lomu and two other men all were out "hunting" rival gang members that night.
Two residents of the home have identified Bloomfield and Lomu as the invaders. But their descriptions are at odds with each other regarding the shirt color and type of weapons the men were carrying.
Also, one of the witnesses has identified three other men as the home invaders, and he told police immediately following the attack he was "100 percent sure" his neighbors were the perpetrators, according to testimony.
To further confuse matters, yet another man — 27-year-old Nitokalisi Niki Fonua — recently confessed to police that he entered the home and fired a rifle at Flores because he thought she was phoning the police, according to testimony.
Prosecutors claim Fonua's admissions do not preclude the possibility that Bloomfield and/or Lomu also entered the home and fired the shot that killed Flores.
A fourth man, George B. Angilau, 20, who allegedly acted as a lookout, waived his right to a preliminary hearing.
A fifth defendant, Shannon Moala, 32, who was Bloomfield's girlfriend, has placed all four male defendants at the scene that night.
She also testified that Bloomfield later told her regarding Flores' death, "They didn't mean to kill her."
Defense attorneys Chad Steur, for Lomu, and Lisa Remal, for Bloomfield, have challenged Moala's credibility, noting the favorable treatment she received from prosecutors.
Following her testimony in January, Moala — who pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and negligent homicide — was released from jail and allowed to return to her home state of California.
Moala testified that the defendants, members of the Baby Regulator gang, drove from West Valley City to the Glendale area of Salt Lake City that night seeking revenge on rival Tongan Crip Gang members for a drive-by shooting at Lomu's home in June 2009.