A suspect has been charged with shooting and killing a man at a South Salt Lake strip club, allegedly after a dispute over a cellphone.
Romalice Latrell Williams, 36, was charged in 3rd District Court with murder, aggravated robbery and felony discharge of a weapon, first-degree felonies; theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony; possession of a firearm by a restricted person; possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, third-degree felonies; and giving false information to a police officer, a class C misdemeanor.
On Sunday, a shooting was reported at Southern X-Posure club at 3420 S. State St. When officers arrived, they found Cherokee Aiko, 26, of Kearns, had been shot in the chest. Aiko was taken to a hospital, where he died a short time later.
According to court documents, two witnesses told police they went to the strip club with Aiko. After they’d been there about 45 minutes, one of the witnesses realized he didn’t have his cellphone, so he went to his car to get it. Aiko called the cellphone, and someone answered it.
The phone’s owner walked back into the club and saw a man — later identified as Williams — talking on it. He told police he recognized his phone because it had an “unusual cover,” court documents state. When the phone’s owner confronted him, Williams “pulled out a gun, cocked it, and said, ‘What? Who’s [expletive] phone?’” The phone’s owner told police he walked away from Williams at that point.
According to a witness, Aiko approached Williams and told him to give back the phone. The witness said he heard three “popping noises.”
Surveillance footage shows Aiko enter the club, interact with someone inside, and then go back out, running north until he fell to the ground, according to a probable cause statement. Two men are then seen leaving the club, and one of them — later identified as Williams — is holding a gun. They get in a car and drive away.
The second man told police he was with Williams during the shooting but denied knowing his name.
The car Williams was driving was later located at a motel at 1659 W. North Temple, where he was arrested. According to police, when they asked him to identify himself, Williams gave them a false name.
According to the charges, when Williams’ room was searched, police found a handgun — later found to have been reported stolen in Colorado — and ammunition “similar” to empty casings and a live round found at the strip club after the shooting. Police also found a “distributable amount” of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and clothes that matched what Williams was seen wearing at the club in the surveillance video.
A live round similar to the one found at the scene of the shooting was found in the car Williams was driving, police said.
Williams was booked into the Salt Lake County jail, where he is being held without bail. His first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.
