SALT LAKE CITY — In a recorded statement Thursday, Curtis Allgier said he would not be withdrawing his plea as a previous letter implied and that he wanted the case to conclude.

Allgier accepted a plea deal in the death of Stephen Anderson, 60, a Department of Corrections officer. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, disarming a peace officer, aggravated escape, aggravated robbery and possession of a dangerous weapon. In addition to those charges, he also pleaded no contest to three counts of attempted aggravated murder. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to not seek the death penalty.

Allgier started the recording by saying he wanted to "clarify some issues and make sure everybody's on the same page" about his plea, which he will not withdraw.

In the recording, he maintained his innocence of the three counts of attempted aggravated murder, but that he wanted the case closed "out of respect" for the Anderson family and people who have treated him with respect on the case.

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Allgier plea deal will remain in place, no withdraw planned

An attorney for Curtis Allgier, who recently admitted to shooting and killing a corrections officer during an escape, does not believe his client plans to withdraw his guilty plea.

"The sergeants have been respectful to me, the mine staff has been respectful to me, and there hasn't been an issue," Allgier said. "Also, there hasn't been an issue because I haven't caused an issue. I'm not a violent person, I'm not a disruptive person. I don't get write-ups. My institutional behavior is not a problem.

Earlier this month, Allgier wrote a letter to a friend that he was going to withdraw his plea. Allgier's attoney, Dusty Kawai said he saw an attorney unaffiliated with the case make a comment in a TV interview about the case, prompting Allgier to write the letter, which was then leaked to media. The statement released Thursday was meant to clarify that he was just venting his anger.

Allgier was convicted for the 2007 shooting death of Anderson Oct. 3. Allgier, who was already an inmate at the Utah State Prison at the time of Anderson's death, shot and killed the officer while being transported to University Hospital. He then attempted to escape, which ended at an Arby's restaurant.

At the restaurant, he put a gun against an employee's head before a patron wrested the weapon from him.

"I was going through a religious fast, an Odinic winter findings fast, that puts you in a state of religious euphoria," Allgier said in the recorded statement. "My mindset was not where it should be. There were things between me and other people, that I may or may not have felt a certain way about, and I was unable to get a hold of somebody to stop and issue before it became an issue."

He claims he was attacked at Arby's and that he acted out of defense, and that Anderson's death was an accident.

A long-time burr of contention in the case, Allgier talked about his treatment in the legal system. At one point, he fired his attorneys and asked that the judge be removed from the case before he suddenly agreed to the plea deal.

"My rights have been violated from the beginning of this case; All I ever did was stand up for my rights, all I ever did was exercise my rights," he said.

He repeated that he wanted the case to be finished and to move on.

"I'm a grown man I can do my time. I can do my time just fine, no matter where I go," Allgier said.

Allgier will be sentenced Dec. 5, and is expected to get life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Contributing: Sam Penrod and Emiley Morgan

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