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SALT LAKE CITY — A security guard made his first court appearance Friday to answer charges accusing him of killing a man by shooting him in the back.
Timothy Richard Lutes, 26, appeared in a blue jumpsuit and beard in a video transmitted from Salt Lake County Jail to 3rd District Court, less than two city blocks from where prosecutors say the shooting death occurred following a fistfight.
"Yes, your honor," Lutes replied after a judge asked if he understood the murder charge filed against him.
Lutes did not have an attorney, but 3rd District Judge Laura Scott said she would appoint a public defender and noted that bail had been set at $1 million.
Charging documents say Lutes shot Thomas Ray Stanfield, 54, twice after the two fought and Stanfield was walking away at dawn on June 20.
Lutes, a Citadel Security employee, told Stanfield to leave the plaza area between the Heber Wells and Department of Workforce Services buildings, on 300 South at 140 East and 160 East, Salt Lake police said. The outdoor property was closed to the public to deter camping and loitering.
Lutes set his flashlight to strobe on the man's face before Stanfield attacked him and the two got into a fistfight, according to the charges. Surveillance video that authorities say captured the struggle has not yet been released to the public.
Related:
Murder charge: Guard aimed at man's back and fired as he walked away
The mother of a man shot and killed by a security guard outside a state government building filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming her son's civil rights were violated.Lutes told investigators Stanfield took his holster and pointed his own firearm at him, a police report states. Prosecutors said the video shows Stanfield tossing Lutes' empty gun holster aside, and then walking away.
In the recording, Lutes is seen chasing after Stanfield and "re-engaging him each time," charges state, at one point knocking Stanfield to the ground and punching him several times while he is down. Stanfield took several steps away as the guard fired, hitting him twice in the left upper back, according to charging documents. Stanfield died at the scene.
It was unknown whether Stanfield was armed. His daughter has said he was not.
State administrators have pulled Citadel Security from three government buildings, citing an abundance of caution, and have temporarily replaced it as they examine the company's practices. Citadel has said it is cooperating with the police investigation and grieving for the man who lost his life.
Stanfield's mother last week sued Lutes and Citadel, alleging wrongful death and violation of Stanfield's civil rights.
Lutes was licensed to be an unarmed security guard in 2015 and became licensed to be an armed security guard in November, according to records maintained by the Utah Department of Occupational and Professional Licensing.
He is due back in court July 13.
