PUBLIC RELATIONS UNIT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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SLCPD Officers Safely Arrest Two Los Angeles Homicide Suspects

SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake City Police sergeant, with the help of patrol officers, safely arrested two people wanted for an alleged aggravated murder in Los Angeles, California.

This investigation started at approximately 2 a.m. on Thursday, October 24, 2024, when the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD) received information about a stolen car from Los Angeles registering on license plate reader technology in Salt Lake City.

Officers began checking the car’s last known location and came across the suspects inside the stolen car, parked near 450 West 600 North.

Officers performed a high-hazard, felony traffic stop and took both suspects into custody without incident.

SLCPD detectives booked 21-year-old Jasani Johnson and 20-year-old Wynter Smith into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on charges of theft of a motor vehicle and obstruction of justice in a capital or first-degree felony case.

Both suspects are being held without bail.

The Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office are in the process of obtaining an arrest warrant for both suspects so they can be transported back to Los Angeles on local charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated murder.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is not the custodian of record for jail booking photos. Utah Code 17-22-30 mostly prohibits the release of jail booking photos. Generally, a jail booking photo can only be released by the custodian of record after a conviction or when law enforcement determines the person is a fugitive or an imminent threat to a person or public safety. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of record for jail booking photos.

The information contained in this news release is based on a preliminary review of the details available to the Salt Lake City Police Department. As the investigation progresses, information may change.

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