SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 23, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Police have announced an arrest in the June 2023 shooting death of a 22-year-old man outside a downtown Salt Lake City nightclub.
Halapaini Moala was shot and killed in the early morning hours June 4, 2023, outside the New Yorker Social Club, 60 W. Market St., police said.
Officers arrived to find Moala on the ground in a nearby parking lot, and he died at the scene, Salt Lake City police said.
Molitoni Vainuku, 23, was arrested Saturday in connection with Moala’s death, SLCPD announced.
“This arrest comes after a lengthy investigation,” Chief Mike Brown said. “It marks a significant accomplishment of our Gang Unit and Homicide Squad, and will certainly advance public safety in our city. The web of violence connected to this one case kept people in our community living in fear of retaliation. I hope that fear is now broken.”
Since the shooting, the SLCPD’s Gang Unit and Homicide Squad worked together to identify the shooter, police said. Detectives reassured community members that witness intimidation or witness tampering would not be tolerated.
Police also launched crime suppression patrols in downtown and began a criminal investigation into the now-closed New Yorker nightclub.
On Friday, gang unit detectives worked with SLCPD’s Violent Criminal Apprehension Team and SWAT Team to take Vainuku into custody in West Valley City. Detectives located a firearm at the time of his arrest, police said.
Vainuku was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for investigation of murder, a first-degree felony.
