SLC Man Charged With Murder After Shooting Roommate Through Door

SLC Man Charged With Murder After Shooting Roommate Through Door

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James Stacey Riedman, 47, faces a first-degree felony murder charge after allegedly shooting his roommate through a closed apartment door in Salt Lake City.

The incident, which occurred on Nov. 3 at an apartment on 768 N. Redwood Road, resulted in the death of 24-year-old Kade Tuttle, KSL.com reported. According to charging documents, the fatal shooting followed a period of rising tensions between the two men, who had recently become roommates.

Tuttle had recently moved into the apartment after experiencing homelessness, a detail the court filings note was part of an arrangement where Riedman rented out a room to assist with his own finances. However, the living situation quickly deteriorated due to domestic frictions.

“In the short time the victim and the defendant were roommates, tempers flared and the victim left the apartment for a short time,” the charging documents state.

Man arrested for shooting, killing roommate through apartment door in Salt Lake City — ABC4 Utah

The confrontation escalated when Tuttle returned to the residence with groceries but found himself locked out of the unit. Riedman told investigators that tensions had developed over several specific issues, including Tuttle leaving lights on, consuming more than his allotted share of food, and taking personal items, such as a belt, without permission.

On the day of the shooting, Riedman claimed he felt he was being “increasingly taken advantage of” by his new roommate. When Tuttle arrived at the door, Riedman said he yelled, “I’m going to kick this … door down,” and banged on the entrance for 15 to 30 minutes.

Riedman told police he fired a single round through the front door because he feared Tuttle would enter the apartment alongside others to harm him. KSL.com reported that after the shot was fired, Riedman heard a “gurgling noise” seconds later and suspected he had hit someone, though he did not immediately call for help or attempt to provide medical aid.

When Salt Lake City police arrived at the scene, they found Tuttle lying on the landing outside the apartment door with a gunshot wound to his chest. Officers also observed what appeared to be a bullet hole in the apartment door.

While Riedman initially cited fear of being harmed by Tuttle and others, his statements to investigators later suggested a different motivation. He admitted to police that the shooting was an “impulsive thing” driven by anger rather than a calculated defensive measure.

“He admitted that Tuttle ‘never made explicit threats of violence and his actions were driven by emotion rather than fear,’” the charging documents state.

The legal proceedings are now moving through the 3rd District Court, where Riedman is charged with murder. The case highlights the volatile intersection of housing instability and domestic disputes, where minor household grievances can rapidly escalate into fatal violence when firearms are involved.

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