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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah man accused of loaning the gun to the man who killed University of Utah student Lauren McCluskey appeared in federal court Tuesday.
Nathan Daniel Vogel, 21, pleaded not guilty in the brief hearing to making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm and conspiracy.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Pead scheduled a three-day trial to start June 10.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents arrested Vogel while he was working in San Diego last month. A federal judge there released him from custody with certain conditions.
Pead reiterated those conditions Tuesday, including prohibitions on possessing guns, contacting his co-defendant and witnesses, and traveling outside Utah without permission from his pretrial officer. Vogel told the judge his job as a roofer frequently takes him out of the state.
Vogel and Sarah Emily Lady, 24, allegedly made a "straw" purchase of a Beretta PX4 Storm .40-caliber handgun from a federally licensed gun store last September, according to a federal indictment.
Vogel loaned the gun to Melvin Rowland who used it to shoot McCluskey in a parking lot outside her dorm last October, federal prosecutors say. McCluskey had dated Rowland before learning he was a sex offender and more than a decade older than her. Rowland fatally shot himself as police pursued him off campus.
Prosecutors say Vogel asked Lady to buy the gun for him because he didn't want to wait for the background check. They allege she lied to the seller that the gun was for her.
Both are charged with making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm and conspiracy. They face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Lady pleaded not guilty at a hearing last month. She was placed on supervised release with several restrictions, including prohibiting her from having contact with Vogel and prohibiting her from possessing guns or weapons. He trial was set for May 20, but prosecutors agreed to move to the same date as Vogel's trial.
