Man convicted for murder after killing father in front of his child

SALT LAKE CITY — A man who fatally shot a father during a home invasion in 2017 was found guilty of all charges on Friday.

Shaun Eugene Fleming, 42, was found guilty by a jury of first-degree felony murder, three counts of first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, two counts of first-degree felony aggravated burglary, first-degree felony child kidnapping, second-degree felony obstruction justice, and a second-degree felony of possessing a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.

According to court records, Fleming, 52-year-old Tonita Vianay Espinoza, aka Tonita Rico, and another unidentified man forced their way into the home of Toussaint “TJ” L’Ouverture Tyler Jr, 30, on Dec. 10, 2017.

During the robbery, the three suspects held Tyler’s 4-year-old daughter hostage and made him open a safe. Tyler struggled against the suspects and was shot at close range to the chest and back of his head.

Rico was arrested a few days later. She was found guilty of second-degree felony manslaughter and first-degree felony aggravated burglary on Jan 9, 2023, according to court records. She will be sentenced on Mar. 10.

Fleming was arrested in Palm Springs, California, on Jan. 2, 2018. He will be sentenced on May 19.

“We hope these convictions will help keep Mr. Fleming from harming another family. We send our condolences to Mr. Tyler’s loved ones and hope the jury’s decision helps provide some closure for them. We want to acknowledge the hard work of our lead prosecutors Josh Graves and Heather Lindsay, as well as the excellent work done by their staff. We would also like to thank our partners at Unified Police Department for conducting a thorough investigation, that helped secure the convictions in this case,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill in a press release.

The second man is still unidentified.