This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Moments before a woman was shot and killed outside a Sandy home last month, she had been arguing with other residents about money that was owed and she threatened to take a laptop, drugs and cellphones as payment, according to a search warrant unsealed on Wednesday.
Candice Christina Melo, 26, was shot and killed on Dec. 18 in the driveway of a home in the 300 East block of Gary Avenue (9400 South).
Larry Kent Graff, 52, is charged in 3rd District Court with first-degree felony murder in her death and first-degree felony attempted murder for allegedly shooting at, but missing, Michael Grimsley, Melo's boyfriend who had also been staying at the home.
Another resident, Tanell Jensen, told police that just before the 7 a.m. shooting, the residents were arguing and that Melo and two men were trying to take "money, narcotics, computers and cell phones" from Graff.
At that point, Graff entered the room and Jensen told him that Melo was "stealing their belongings," according to the search warrant.
Graff then pointed a gun at Melo and Grimsley as the two were leaving the home, the search warrant states.
Grimsley told police that Graff chased them from the house as he shot at them, according to a police news release.
Graff fired multiple times at Melo while she was running toward the street, according to charging documents. Grimsley also told police that he watched Melo fall to the ground, and that he was yelling at Graff to stop shooting when Graff pointed the gun at him and fired one shot, according to charging documents. Grimsley was not hit, but he fell to the ground "hoping to convince Larry he was shot," according to the search warrant affidavit.
"Larry approached him and pointed the gun at [Grimsley] on the ground, then turned and walked back into the house," the affidavit reads.
Jensen told police that "there may have been shots fired inside the home, and Larry [Graff] followed Candice [Melo] and the two males outside, where more shots were fired," the search warrant affidavit states.
Grimsley later told police that he heard Jensen and Melo arguing about "trading methamphetamine for a cellular phone" before the shooting. He said that his girlfriend also yelled at Jensen about "money owed" and said that she was taking a laptop and cellphones as payment.
Graff allegedly admitted to police soon after the shooting that he was the gunman. He also told detectives that he "didn't feel threatened" and "just wanted them to leave the house," according to a jail probable cause statement.
Graff, who is being held at the Salt Lake County jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail, will be in court on Jan. 12 for a scheduling conference.
Twitter: @jm_miller