Charges in Sandy hate crime case dismissed due to evidence concerns

SANDY — Charges have been dismissed against a 19-year-old man accused of committing a hate crime by retaliating against the family of a gay teen.

Hayden Perry Stowell, 19, of Sandy, was charged Aug. 15 in 3rd District Court with retaliation against a witness, a third-degree felony, and criminal mischief, a class A misdemeanor. Prosecutors filed both charges with hate crimes penalty enhancements.

But on Monday, just one week after the charges were filed, the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office filed a motion for the case to be dismissed "in the interests of justice and because of evidentiary issues."

A judge formally dismissed the case without prejudice on Monday — meaning that prosecutors have the option of refiling it in the future — and ordered Stowell released from the Salt Lake County Jail.

The district attorney's office declined Wednesday to say what those evidentiary issues are, instead noting in a prepared statement: "During routine follow-up of the investigation, we learned additional information that required us to dismiss the case against Mr. Stowell at this time. To protect the integrity of the case, the ongoing investigation, and the interests of Mr. Stowell's ongoing presumption of innocence, we cannot speak any further about the matter."

Sandy police also declined to comment on the charges being dismissed, but noted that the investigation of the incident is still ongoing.

Stowell's attorney, Ryan Kingston, said Wednesday that "it was a case of mistaken identity" and that his client is innocent of the charges, but he declined further comment, also citing the ongoing investigation.

The vandalism incident on Aug. 13 was believed to be connected to another case involving the same victims on July 30. On that day, a 17-year-old boy was hugging his boyfriend outside a Sandy residence when a car drove by and someone yelled a homophobic slur, according to charging documents. The same car drove by again, 45 minutes later, and this time it stopped and several people got out.

During a confrontation with the couple, one of the occupants of the vehicle punched the 17-year-old victim and then drove away, the charges state. That boy, who is also 17, was later arrested by police for investigation of assault with a hate crime enhancement.

Two weeks later, on the morning of Aug. 13, the mother of the gay teen awoke to find "all her Pride flags strewn about her front yard and the street in front of her home. At least one of the flagpoles had been broken during the process," according to charging documents.

Part of the vandalism was captured on surveillance video. After a witness claimed that she recognized the man in the video as Stowell — who is a friend of the teen who had been arrested — he, too, was arrested.

Prior to Monday, prosecutors had requested that Stowell remain in jail without the possibility of posting bail pending trial.

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