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SALT LAKE CITY — A San Juan County commissioner accused of staging an illegal ATV ride to protest public land management polices will have his day in court.
Commissioner Phil Lyman and three others facing misdemeanor charges were in court Wednesday for a final hearing before their trial begins April 28.
Federal prosecutors had proposed plea deals to Monte Jerome Wells, Shane Morris Marian and Franklin Trent Holliday, but each of them told U.S. District Judge Robert J. Shelby that they rejected the offers. Prosecutors did not offer Lyman a deal.
Defense attorneys after the hearing would not discuss what the government offered, nor would they discuss the case other than to say they look forward to next week's trial.
The four men are charged with one count each of conspiracy to operate off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles, and operation of off-road vehicles on public lands closed to off-road vehicles stemming from a May 2014 protest ride in San Juan County's Recapture Canyon. If convicted, they face up to one year in prison, a $100,000 fine and 12 months of probation.
Prosecutors dropped charges against a fifth man, Jay Demar Redd, last November.
The 11-mile, popular off-roading area was closed by the Bureau of Land Management in 2007 over concerns of damage to ancestral Puebloan ruins. Many locals objected to the closure, asserting it was arbitrary and unnecessary and thwarted a review process mandated by federal law.
San Juan County has sought right-of-way access in the canyon, a decision that has been pending for more than seven years.
Lyman told reporters last spring that he organized the ride to protest the decreasing access to ATV trails on public land. At least 50 people participated in the ride.
