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SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for Curtis Allgier, a white supremacist accused of killing a corrections officer, say he is having a rough time in jail.
They are waiting for Salt Lake County Jail officials to hand over 726 videotapes showing each time Allgier has left his cell. Defense attorney Ralph Dellapiana said Wednesday he wants to review the tapes, which he believes will show altercations involving jail guards and other inmates.
Dellapiana questioned why the jail has taken so long to turn over the tapes and claimed that some have gone missing. Judge Paul Maughan said he will sign an order to speed up the process if necessary.
After the hearing, Dellapiana said Allgier is being held in the jail's "administrative segregation" unit for inmates with disciplinary problems. He said Allgier has only committed minor violations, such as eating two sandwiches when he was only allowed one.
According to Dellapiana, Allgier received video through a records request of an incident where an officer dragged him from a phone before his time was up, leaving him bruised. Also, Allgier has lost 50 pounds during his incarceration.
"It appears he doesn't get the full menu he's supposed to get," Dellapiana said.
Allgier, 31, is accused of shooting corrections officer Stephen Anderson while attempting to escape during a hospital visit in June 2007. He allegedly then carjacked an SUV and led police on a chase across the Salt Lake Valley to a Glendale restaurant, where he tried to shoot an employee before a customer helped apprehend him. Maughan scheduled a hearing for Jan. 12 on several pretrial motions, including two that question the constitutionality of Utah's capital murder statute and one related to whether Allgier's tattoos, which cover his entire body, should be concealed at trial. The defense also wants to have Allgier transported to secure facilities at the Matheson Courthouse for a psychiatric evaluation.
Another motion raises concerns that jail officials have violated Allgier's attorney-client privilege by inspecting documents that his attorneys have brought or sent to the jail. Dellapiana called that privilege "sacred" and said some documents have been improperly taken away.
The defense is only communicating verbally with Allgier now due to fears that papers could be shared with prosecutors. However, prosecutors said nothing seized at the jail and turned over to the Salt Lake County District Attorney Office's civil division would be shown to them. Prosecutor Vincent Meister said there have been problems with some materials brought into the jail and some inspection of documents is necessary.
"It wouldn't be the first time somebody stamped ‘legal mail' on something and it wasn't legal mail," he said. Maughan said he found the possible violations "very troubling" and asked both sides to prepare briefs on the issue.
It's unclear whether the roughly 50 pending motions and other matters will push back the trial, currently set for May. Dellapiana said Salt Lake public defenders are currently handling 12 capital murder cases, delaying preparation that includes a detailed investigation of Allgier's upbringing in South Dakota.
The Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, for the first time, has hired an outside "mitigation investigator" to travel to South Dakota and interview 27 witnesses, he said. Information about Allgier's background would be critical in the sentencing phase if he is convicted. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty.
E-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com
