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MYTON, Duchesne County — After more than a month on paid administrative leave, Myton's police chief has been fired amid allegations that he stalked three women.
Thomas Wade Butterfield was fired Friday, according to Mayor Kathleen Cooper, who declined to talk about the circumstances that led to the chief's termination.
Butterfield, 44, is charged in 8th District Court with three counts of stalking and one count of criminal trespass, all class A misdemeanors. Duchesne County prosecutors have also charged him with unlawful detention, a class B misdemeanor.
Three women are identified as victims in the case, according to charging documents. Two of the them filed petitions for civil stalking injunctions. A judge denied one of those petitions in October. A hearing on the second petition is set for Nov. 13. A preliminary hearing in the criminal case is set for Dec. 8.
The police department was organized July 1 to serve Myton's 500 to 600 residents. Butterfield was the department's only full-time employee. He was put on paid administrative leave Sept. 18, two days after the criminal charges were filed.
Myton Police Sgt. Tim Mellor, a part-time employee, has been appointed to serve as interim chief while city officials search for someone to replace Butterfield. There are no plans to disband the department, Cooper said.
