Student charged in stabbing to stand trial in hammer assault on sister

Student charged in stabbing to stand trial in hammer assault on sister

(Geoff Liesik/KSL TV)


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DUCHESNE — A man who is already awaiting trial for allegedly stabbing a classmate at Duchesne High School in May has now been ordered to stand trial for allegedly attacking his own sister with a hammer.

Judge Samuel Chiara ruled Monday that there was sufficient probable cause to bind Leland Patrick King over for trial on charges of aggravated assault and domestic violence in the presence of a child, both third-degree felonies.

Duchesne County sheriff's deputies were called to a medical clinic in Duchesne on Aug. 14 after a woman showed up with injuries suffered in an apparent assault. The woman told investigators King grabbed and pushed her during an argument over farm chores, then picked up a nearby hammer and struck her in the leg, causing her to collapse.

King, 18, is also accused of kicking the woman while she was on the ground. The incident was witnessed by the woman's 9-year-old daughter, according to investigators.

At the time of the alleged attack, King was out on bail after a May 14 stabbing at Duchesne High School that left a classmate with critical injuries.

In that case, King is charged with aggravated assault on school premises, a first-degree felony, and possession of a dangerous weapon on school premises, a class B misdemeanor.

King's mother has said her son has the mental capacity of a 14-year-old and has a musculoskeletal disorder that makes him physically weaker than others his age. Those disabilities made Leland King a target for bullying by as many as seven Duchesne High students, including the teen who was stabbed, according to his mother.

At the conclusion of Monday's hearing, Chiara revoked King's bail in both cases and had him taken into custody pending trial. A three-day jury trial in the Duchesne High School case is set to begin Oct. 1. A trial date in King's other case has not yet been scheduled.

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