Teen charged in South Jordan shooting death

The Salt Lake County District Attorney's office filed murder charges Friday against a Sandy teenager accused of gunning down a Vernal man last weekend.

If convicted of first-degree felony murder, Joshua Buie, 17, could face a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

According to the charges, Buie and Stephen Lasiloo, 21, were both present at a gathering at a home near 11300 South and 450 West on July 25.

At some point that night, there was an argument involving multiple people, including Buie and Lasiloo, about a stolen iPod. After the argument, Lasiloo left on foot with his sister and cousin, according to the charges.

Shortly after Lasiloo left the party, a witness told police that Buie left in a car with two other people. The two people in the car told police that as they approached Lasiloo and his group, Buie asked the driver to stop the car, the charges said.

Witnesses said "Buie got out of the car and confronted Stephen Lasiloo; (Buie) pointed a revolver at (Lasiloo) and shot the gun three or four times," the charges said.

Two of the shots hit Lasiloo, who fell down with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to the charges.

A witness said that Buie got back into the car and said, "I did it. I popped that fool," according to the charges.

The charges also state that an autopsy performed on Lasiloo showed that he died from a gunshot wound to the chest.

Though Buie is only 17, according to a statute, if murder charges are filed against a 16- or 17-year-old, "their jurisdiction lies exclusively with adult court," said Alicia Cook, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

Buie is being held on $750,000 bail in juvenile detention. Because he's been charged as an adult, he's expected to be moved to an adult detention center shortly.

e-mail: ethomas@desnews.com