Man sentenced in gun theft tied to murder of Ogden grocer

OGDEN, Utah — A man who sold a stolen gun used in the murder of Ogden grocer Satnam Singh will serve federal prison time.

Taydon Tailor Law, 22, of Ogden, was sentenced last week to 18 months in federal prison, followed by 36 months of probation, according to U.S. District Court records and a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Law had previously taken a deal in which he pleaded guilty to transporting firearms. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed a charge of possessing stolen firearms.

Neither Law’s attorney nor the U.S. Attorney’s Office responded to requests for confirmation that Law was the gun seller in the Singh case. However, the Standard-Examiner reported that Law’s conviction stems from the February 2021 murder of 65-year-old Singh, quoting prosecutors as saying Law provided a Ruger to then 15-year-old Antonio Gianny Garcia of Ogden.

Law was a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a firearm when he stole a Ruger LC9, 9mm firearm and ammunition from a home where he was working, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

State court records show Law was previously convicted of two felony burglary charges.

Garcia initially told investigators that he purchased a gun “from an individual,” but would not disclose who that person was, charging documents state.

He pleaded guilty in October 2021 to reduced charges of discharge of a firearm and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies, as part of a plea deal. He was sentenced to two terms of five years to life for each of these charges. Garcia was initially charged with aggravated murder.

He was ordered in November 2021 to remain behind bars at a juvenile facility until he is 21. Then he will receive a parole hearing to decide what happens next.

Garcia was accused of walking into the Super Grocery convenience store, 675 N. Monroe Blvd., and firing four times, hitting Singh twice just before midnight on Feb. 28, 2021.

Surveillance video shows Garcia wearing a blue surgical mask, black gloves and a gray Oakland Raiders hoodie. “At the counter, the male pulled a gun, pointed it at the clerk … told him, ‘This is a stickup’ and then pulled the trigger four times, striking (Singh) twice, killing him,” the charges state.

Garcia then ran out of the store, but later turned himself over to police. He admitted that he entered the Super Grocery with the intent to steal because he wanted more money. He fired shots even though Singh had stepped away from the register.

Those who knew Singh, originally from India’s Punjab state, have recalled him as a generous businessman who cared deeply about others in the northern Utah community.

The Sikh Society of Utah mourned Singh, describing him as “a dedicated Sikh who exhibited a lifetime of faith, love and compassion, not only to the Sikh congregation, but to his friends, customers and the Ogden community.”