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SALT LAKE CITY — The attorney for a 15-year-old boy charged with murder in a shooting near Hunter High School in January that left two dead and one injured said she will argue at an October hearing that his actions were in self-defense.
Samantha Dugan did not contest most of the charges against her client during a hearing Wednesday, although the 15-year-old has denied them. The standard needed for the charges to move forward at this preliminary hearing stage was met, although the state has a "pretty myopic view" of the case, Dugan said.
The teen, who KSL.com has opted not to name at this time, is charged in 3rd District Juvenile Court with two counts of murder and discharge of a firearm causing serious injury, first-degree felonies; illegal discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, second-degree felonies; possession of a dangerous weapon on school property, a class A misdemeanor; and possession of a handgun by a minor, a class B misdemeanor.
Judge David Johnson ordered the teenager to stand trial for all of the charges on Wednesday, ruling that prosecutors had proven there was probable cause that the teen committed the crimes.
Paul Tahi, age 15, and Tivani Lopati, age 14, died from gunshot wounds at the scene of the shooting on Jan. 13. They were both students at Hunter High.
Detective Bryan Haywood with West Valley Police Department testified Wednesday about his investigation of the crime scene and some interviews he did with students who were witnesses. The shooting occurred at about 4100 Mountain View Corridor in West Valley City on Jan. 13.
Haywood said when he got to the scene he saw the bodies of two deceased male teenagers leaned against a fence. He said police learned from talking to witnesses that the 15-year-old was the shooter.
The detective also went to the hospital to talk to Ephraim Asiata, another teenager who was hit by a shot and needed multiple organ transplants and surgeries as a result of the bullet wound.
The accused teen's attorney on Wednesday only contested the obstruction of justice charge, which Deputy District Attorney Adrianna Davis said was included because he threw the gun into a yard while fleeing from police through neighborhoods.
Dugan said her client was otherwise cooperative with police, citing testimony from Haywood at the hearing. She said throwing the gun was a "very fair action from a child of color" who was trying to ensure he was not harmed by police.
Det. Caroline Franco, with West Valley City police, interviewed the teenager testified that he told her there were 10 to 15 Polynesians who had been fighting with him and three of his friends, which led him to bring a gun. The teen said he fired the gun because they were coming toward him.
Franco said the teenager reported he was "shooting and running" and was concerned about his friends who were involved in fighting, specifically a friend who had been in a physical fight with the people he was shooting at.
"He didn't know if he shot his friend or not, he was very concerned about that," she said.
During a court hearing days after his arrest, the boy said, "I'm a good kid, I really am," before the judge cut him off and advised him not to say anything else without an attorney.
This case is set for a justification hearing on Oct. 5 and Oct. 6 to determine whether the use of force was justified. Under a recent Utah law, a defendant can ask for a justification hearing which shifts the decision about whether someone acted in self-defense from a jury to a judge, who might have to rule based on limited pretrial evidence.
There is also a retention hearing set in December to determine if the charges should remain in Juvenile Court or be moved to District Court.
