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Bull Rider Fatally Shot By ‘On And Off’ Girlfriend In Utah After Argument
Demetrius “Ouncie Mitchell” Allen, an internationally-ranked professional bull rider, was allegedly shot and killed by his on-and-off-again girlfriend, LaShawn Bagley, over the weekend.
A professional bull rider set to compete at the Utah State Fair was allegedly gunned down by his girlfriend during a domestic dispute last weekend.
Demetrius Omar Lateef Allen, 27, was found shot shortly after midnight on Monday at a Salt Lake City apartment building, according to police. He’d suffered a single apparent gunshot wound to his torso, according to Salt Lake City television station KSTU. Allen was rushed to hospital where he later died.
LaShawn Denise Bagley, 21, was subsequently arrested by Salt Lake City police in connection with Allen’s slaying. She’s been charged with murder and felony discharge of a firearm.
Authorities have described the incident as domestic violence-related. According to police, the pair were involved in an “on and off” relationship, per court documents obtained by Salt Lake City Fox affiliate KSTU, and Allen was staying with Bagley while competing at the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's Rodeo at the Utah State Fair.
“These two, we believe knew each other, they had attended the fair and then ended up at a bar and ended up arguing,” Detective Michelle Peterson told the outlet. “Then the male wanted to get some of his property from the apartment that he was staying in while he was attending the fair, and a gun was pulled out and he was shot.”
Authorities suspect Bagley fired multiple shots through a glass door at Allen, who was standing outside the residence, and that at least one round struck him. Several bullet holes were found in the apartment, as well as blood outside the apartment. Investigators ultimately concluded that Allen hadn’t entered Bagley's place at the time of the deadly shooting.
"There is no indication of any forced entry or attempted forced entry into the apartment," charging documents allege. "The witness also stated that there was no entry or attempted forced entry into the apartment."
Allen, who competed under the name “Ouncie Mitchell,” rode his first steer at the age of five, his family said. He was ranked 24th in the PRCA | RAM World Standings at the time of his death. He has more than 8,400 followers on Instagram.
“I try to ride loose and cool and have fun,” Allen said in 2018, according to Professional Bull Riders. “My dad used to always say, ‘Forget the form and make the horn.’ Whatever I have to do, just make it.”
His father, "Teaspoon" Mitchell, also competed professionally as a bull rider in the 1990s.
“It is amazing,” his father, Teaspoon Mitchell also told Professional Bull Riders in 2021. “What father wouldn’t want to be with their child? He has been around it all my career since his mom entered him in the mutton busting. The boy wasn’t even walking all the way when he got started.”
Allen’s family is now struggling to come to grips with his sudden death.
“I don’t understand and I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to understand,” his cousin, Ezekiel Mitchell, who also rides bulls professionally, told KSTU. “The guy that would give the shirt off his back to anybody, why would you take his life away?”
The 27-year-old bull rider also leaves behind a four-year-old daughter. Nyteshea Haywood, his child’s mother, described Allen as a loving father and a “once-in-a-lifetime person.”
“She loved her daddy,” Haywood told KSTU. “She loved him and loved him and loved him. It was always, ‘My daddy this, my daddy doing this, my daddy took me fishing.’ She loves her dad and so having to break that news to her was a huge distraught.”
Bagley is being held at a Salt Lake County Metro Jail, according to jail records obtained by Oxygen.com. Court date and attorney information wasn’t immediately available for her.
