Security guard arrested after police say he shot man in the back
Jun 20, 2018, 7:00 PM | Updated: 9:28 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A security guard has been arrested for investigation of murder after police said he shot a man in the back, killing him.
The incident happened around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday outside the Olene Walker Building at 140 East 300 South in Salt Lake City.
Investigators from the Salt Lake City Police Department said 26-year-old Timothy Lutes was working as a security guard at the building when he came across 54-year-old Thomas Stanfield underneath a covered part of the building.
UPDATE: Man charged with #murder after morning shooting. https://t.co/xAo0fMRE9s
— SLC Police Dept. (@slcpd) June 20, 2018
Police said part of Lutes’ job was to remove trespassers. They said Lutes told Stanfield to leave.
“During that time, he was shining his light on the trespasser, which eventually started an altercation between the security guard and the trespasser,” said Sergeant Brandon Shearer.
According to a probable cause statement, Lutes told police the two got into a fight and as they went to the ground, he said Stanfield pulled Lutes’ holster from his belt and pointed it at him.
Police said video showed Stanfield walking away from Lutes several times and each time, they said, Lutes re-initiated contact. Police said Stanfield was walking away from Lutes when Lutes fired, hitting him twice in the back.
“People do have a right to defend their life if they feel their life is threatened. Based off what detectives learned, during their investigation of this case, they did not feel that that was necessarily what happened in this case,” Shearer said.
Wednesday afternoon, Citadel Security, the company Lutes works for, issued a statement addressing the shooting.
“We have heart felt grief for the individual that lost their life and our thoughts and prayers go out to their family,” the statement read.
The statement said Citadel Security was cooperating with police and planned to launch their own administrative investigation. They said it would be irresponsible for them to comment further.
