Sentenced for Murder at New Yorker

Today, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced the sentencing of Molitoni Fisiki Vainuku for the murder of Halapaini Moala at a downtown Salt Lake City Night Club.
 
On June 4, 2023, Mr. Moala was at an after-party at the New Yorker when one of his friends pointed out that the defendant and “his boys” were staring at them. As the club began to close up, Mr. Moala and his friends headed out to the parking lot. As they walked up some stairs to leave, the defendant said something to them. Mr. Moala and his friend looked at each other like, “Wait, what did he say?” When they looked back at the defendant, he said, “Are you tripping? Are you tripping?” The defendant then pulled out a gun and shot Mr. Moala. The defendant then fled the scene.  
 
On December 19, 2024, the defendant entered a guilty plea on the sole count of first-degree felony murder. On February 18, 2025, a third district court judge sentenced the defendant to not less than 15 years in prison.
 
“This senseless act of violence is hard to comprehend. The defendant is a risk to the community and belongs behind bars. We understand that Mr. Moala played a big part in the lives of his family members, and they have suffered an immense loss since his death. We hope they see this conviction and sentence as justice being served, though it may not be perfect justice, if it was perfect, their son and brother would still be here,” said Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill. “We would like to thank our prosecutors on the case Abby Brinkerhoff and John Ham and our support staff for their aggressive approach to this prosecution. We would also like to thank detectives with the Salt Lake City Police Department for their investigation, which helped lead to this successful prosecution.”