Murder charge filed in fatal West Valley stabbing

Beni Vai Hautau | Salt Lake County Jail

WEST VALLEY CITY — A man accused of fatally stabbing another man during a fight in West Valley City has been charged.

Beni Vai Hautau, 19, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with murder, a first-degree felony.

On Oct. 24, at the Redwood Apartments, 4000 S. Redwood Road, witnesses say Treyvon Stephens was in one of the units when a man named “Polynesian Ben” or “Little Ben” came to the door, according to charging documents. The two men began arguing and both were told to leave the apartment.

One witness told detectives the dispute was over drugs, the charges state.

A short time later, Stephens returned to the apartment, pounded on the door, and then collapsed when he was let inside, the charges state. He showed the others in the apartment where he had been stabbed in the chest.

“Ben stabbed me,” Stephens was able to tell the first responding officers before later succumbing to his injuries.

Police located Hautau in a stolen car the next day and arrested him.

He was charged on Oct. 29 with theft by receiving stolen property, a second-degree felony, for the stolen car incident, court records state.

In June, Hautau was charged with discharge of a firearm and possession of a weapon by a restricted person and a no bail warrant was issued for his arrest after he allegedly shot another man twice near 1000 S. Redwood Road, according to charging documents. The victim suffered injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening. The case was dismissed, however, on Aug. 1 Hautau was released from custody after prosecutors say the alleged victim and all the witnesses refused to cooperate with authorities.

In January, Hautau was convicted of aggravated robbery and possession of a weapon by a restricted person when he robbed a woman at gunpoint and fired a shot in the process, according to court records. The woman was not injured. Hautau was sentenced to a suspended prison term and told to serve 30 days in jail, according to court records.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/36HU9Xw