A year after 21-year-old Krystal Flores was gunned down in her Glendale yard, police have arrested two suspects in the innocent bystander’s murder.

Pailate Lomu, 21, and Shannon Moala, 32, were taken into custody Thursday.

“Detectives believe that Moala and Lomu were significant players in the group of gang members that went to the wrong house looking for rival gang members ... resulting in the homicide,” Salt Lake City police officers wrote in a press statement Thursday.

“It is clear that Flores and her family were not the intended targets, nor were they gang members,” officers wrote.

Police did not name the gang they suspect Moala and Lomu belong to — or the gang they allegedly were hunting for. They also are suspected of shooting a 23-year-old in the vicinity of Flores’ home the same night; that man survived.

“It did take awhile for them to get these guys, but everybody’s happy because they were caught,” said Alfonso Palacios, Flores’ brother-in-law.

The arrests come four days before the one-year anniversary of Flores’ death — an emotional coincidence for her family, Palacios said.

“We started thinking about it more because [the anniversary] was coming up, but now we’re just so happy — just with the relief,” he said.

Others in Flores’ family are declining to speak at length with the media until police are confident all those responsible are in custody, Palacios said. Detectives have said others likely were involved in the shooting, and they are asking the public for information.

In the weeks after Flores’ death, Glendale neighborhood advocates criticized police for not specifically describing gang connections suspected in the shooting — and for not clarifying that Flores herself was not involved with any gangs. Officers at the time said they were trying not to release information that could compromise the investigation.

However, now police say the people who killed Flores may also have been connected to two other deaths. Officers are seeking information on the shooting deaths of Solomone Tuifua, who died Feb. 24, 2007, and Villiami Latu, who was gunned down June 7, 2007.

“Many times gang-involved crimes involve the same group of people and their associates,” officers wrote.

Latu’s family has said they believe the Baby Regulators, a Polynesian street gang, was connected to his death. Police have said they believe members of the Tongan Crip Gang killed Tuifua, who was trying to separate himself from the gang.

Salt Lake City Police Department offers up to $5,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of homicide suspects. To make a confidential tip, call 801-799-4636 or e-mail tipsforcash@slcgov.com.