High court orders new trial in S.L. murder case

SALT LAKE CITY — A man serving time in prison since 2006 for murder has had his conviction vacated and a new trial ordered following a Supreme Court decision issued Friday.

Deon Lomax Clopten, 34, was convicted of murder in a jury trial in February 2006. He was convicted in the shooting death of Tony Fuailemaa, who was shot in the head and neck outside Club X-Scape, 115 S. West Temple, after a hip hop concert.

In the decision written by Chief Justice Christine Durham, the high court ruled that the trial court should not have excluded expert testimony about the reliability of eyewitnesses. Durham said that while the courts do provide jury instructions telling jurors of possible faults in the statements of eyewitnesses — a result of a Supreme Court ruling — that shouldn't be limiting.

"It's a fairly important decision in its treatment of expert testimony about eyewitness identifications," said Clopten's attorney, Troy Booher. "Utah courts are now routinely going to allow jurors to hear from experts who can inform them about the pitfalls of eyewitness identifications so we're not sending innocent people to prison."

Booher said Clopten long maintained that while he may have been present that night, he didn't shoot anyone. At trial, he said another man, Freddie White, pulled the trigger, the decision says. Booher said White even confessed at one point, but several eyewitnesses implicated Clopten in the crime.

He was eventually convicted by a five-woman, four-man jury in 3rd District Court and was sentenced to 15 years to life for the crime.

During the trial, prosecutor Fred Burmester said Fuailemaa and a female friend were leaving a hip hop concert when they noticed Clopten and some other men outside. When the couple left the concert to avoid heavy traffic, they noticed men peeking out at them from around other buildings and Fuailemaa told his friend, "I think there's going to be trouble," Burmester said.

Fuailemaa had his back to the men "when suddenly a man dressed all in red came out holding a gun. He held it to the back of Tony's head and fired three rounds," Burmester said.

What none of these people knew was that four undercover police officers were also in the club that night. They emerged, saw Fuailemaa on the ground and his friend hysterically screaming, and ran after the man in red, who eventually got into a white car and led them on a chase reaching speeds of 100 mph before being stopped.