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An Ogden murder suspect, who allegedly told police he's had homicidal thoughts for the past year, was coaching a girl's Little League softball team in 2007. Now parents have a lot of questions about the city's policy on background checks.
It's because months before he coached that team, Jacob Daniel Ethridge was involved in a standoff with police. Chief Max Jackson says that resulted in only a misdemeanor and that by itself wasn't enough to disqualify him from coaching. But he says in truth, they never did a background check that year. "Summer recreation people had no idea that this had happened, approached Mr. Ethridge to see if he would coach because there were some needs for coaches at the last minute."
Jackson says Ethridge had passed a background check in 2006 and was regarded as an excellent coach, one who was good with kids.
Jackson says in 2007, recreation officials gave Ethridge paperwork to submit to police. But he didn't turn it in. When they didn't hear back from police, the league assumed Ethridge was good to go. Jackson says they've now tightened up their background check policies.
Ethridge is accused of shooting and killing two Ogden prostitutes in July. He was bound over for trial last week. Harrisville City officials say they were shocked to learn of the crime. In fact, they say he was an excellent coach and was very good with kids.
There's another twist in the story. Jackson says after Ethridge's misdemeanor conviction, police and prosecutors could no longer hold the gun used in the standoff. So they gave it to Ethridge's brother-in-law, with an order that Ethridge was never to take possession of the weapon. But Jackson says Ethridge somehow got hold of the gun, sometime after his brother-in-law left for military duty in Iraq. Police now believe the same gun used in the standoff was used to kill 25-year-old Rosanna Marie Cruz and 42-year old Teresa Rene Tingey on July 13.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
