Two Alleged Tongan Crip Gang Members Face Firearm Charges Following Salt Lake City Shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - An indictment was unsealed today charging two alleged Tongan Crip Gang Members (TCG), one of whom is a convicted felon, with firearm crimes following the January shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Salt Lake City.

Ryan Daniel Toutai, aka "Lost One," 32, of Salt Lake City, and Fineeva Pomona Maka, aka "Finloc," 26, of Millcreek, Utah, were indicted by a federal grand jury on February 25, 2026.

According to the allegations in court documents, both Toutai and Maka had previously been pictured with one of the firearms that was used at the shooting on January 7, 2026. As alleged, on January 7, 2026, the Salt Lake City Police Department received numerous reports of "shots fired" at an LDS church in Salt Lake City. Upon officers' arrival, they encountered multiple victims with gunshot wounds. As law enforcement secured and processed the scene, they recovered .40 caliber casings, 9mm caliber casings, and a Ruger 9mm semi-automatic pistol with serial number 322-90515. Toutai was on scene when officers arrived and was detained after he failed to comply with officers' requests to move away from first responders rendering aid to a victim. Pursuant to a search warrant, Toutai's phone was seized and contained photo and video evidence that he had previously possessed the Ruger 9mm, with the same serial number, recovered from the scene. Toutai was identified as the creator of the images and videos based on a distinctive tattoo on his left hand.

According to court documents, Toutai's phone also contained documentation of events hours before the shooting. Toutai took several photos and videos of himself and his co-defendant Maka. Screenshots from videos depict Maka holding a small black pistol that is consistent with the Ruger LC9. As a multi-convicted felon, Maka is restricted from owning or possessing a firearm and ammunition. Prior to the shooting, Maka, who was on parole for a prior conviction, was ordered to wear a GPS Ankle monitor. Evidence from the GPS ankle monitor combined with physical evidence collected from the scene, strongly corroborates Maka's possession of the Ruger firearm on January 7, 2026. Additionally, photo and video evidence show Toutai and Maka claiming TCG membership and interacting with other TCG members.

Toutai is charged with unlawful disposition of a firearm. Maka is charged with felon in possession of a firearm. Their initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for March 3, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated by the Salt Lake City Police Department.

The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.