Judge denies motion to drop murder charge for teen accused in officer's death

Judge denies motion to drop murder charge for teen accused in officer's death

(West Valley City Police Department)


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A judge Wednesday denied a motion seeking to dismiss a murder charge for one of three teenage boys accused in the death of West Valley police officer Cody Brotherson.

Defense attorney David Johnson, who represents the 15-year-old boy, argued that a probable cause statement handed down by prosecutors didn't sufficiently lay out why the teen could be charged with murder.

"I'm a little confounded by the state's position," Johnson said, suggesting that standards from the adult system aren't applicable in juvenile court.

Prosecutor Jennifer Mitchell countered that the charging documents do what they are required to, laying out when and where the crime is alleged to have occurred, and evidence the boy was in the vehicle that hit Brotherson.

The boy is charged alongside two other juveniles — his 14-year-old brother and another boy who turned 16 in March.

All three boys are charged with murder with gang enhancements, a first-degree felony; car theft with gang enhancements, a first-degree felony; and failing to stop at the command of a law enforcer, a class A misdemeanor.

The two brothers also face an additional charge of possession of burglary tools, a class B misdemeanor. The boys had shaved spoons, according to the charges.

The 14-year-old brother and the now-16-year-old are also charged with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony. The 15-year-old brother was charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a minor, a class B misdemeanor, for having brass knuckles, charges state.

The teens remain in custody, where they have been held since November. KSL has opted not to name the boys at this time.

Related:

Though she denied Johnson's motion to dismiss the murder charge, 3rd District Juvenile Judge Kim Hornak granted the defense's request for a "bill of particulars," which would further detail the elements of the charges.

Arguing against the motion, Mitchell asserted the state has provided Johnson with the extensive evidence collected in the case, which prosecutors now say totals 30 gigabytes of information.

Mitchell compared the situation to a classroom, where a student is provided a full textbook before a test but isn't obligated to receive the questions or answers.

Motion hearings for the two other boys charged in Brotherson's death are scheduled for Friday.

Related stories

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
McKenzie Romero

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast