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OGDEN — The last of three suspects convicted in a 2020 Christmas morning shooting death in Riverdale was found guilty by a jury this week of aggravated murder.
Liam Hughes Tonneson Gale, 34, was also found guilty in 2nd District Court Monday of attempted aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and obstructing justice. All five charges are first-degree felonies.
The same day, Gale pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a first-degree felony, in the shooting that killed Trevor Anthony Martin, 36, and seriously injured Angela Rowley.
The intention of the weeklong jury trial was not to prove Gale's culpability, but to determine whether he should be convicted of aggravated murder — or lesser charges of murder or manslaughter. They were also tasked with determining whether he was guilty of attempted aggravated murder, or a lesser charge of aggravated assault. In both charges, jurors convicted Gale of the more serious offense.
At 3:20 a.m. on Dec. 25, 2020, police responded to a report that multiple people had been shot at a mobile home park at 5100 S. 1050 West in Riverdale.
Gale, along with Brittany Ann Rogers, then 31, of Clearfield; and Rayburn Jimmy Bennett, who was 16, of West Valley City; had broken into the home of Martin and Rowley and their four daughters, then ranging in age from 7 to 15. Bennett shot Martin, who died later that day at the hospital. He also shot Rowley, who survived but had to undergo multiple surgeries and skin grafts to repair the lower half of her face.
Defense attorney Grant Morrison said Gale had previously lived with Martin for around four months and it "didn't go well." Morrison said Gale's intent in targeting Martin was to rob, not kill him, "for what it's worth."
"He didn't go there to kill Trevor Martin, he went over there to rob him and teach him a lesson," Morrison said.
Gale's sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 25. Prosecutor Branden Miles said he believes Gale's past convictions, including an aggravated robbery in July 2015, and his status as a "habitual violent offender" will likely contribute to a longer sentence.
"Gale has absolutely not shown any remorse for what happened and has expressed pretty offensive things about what happened to the victim that I think will come into play at sentencing," Miles said.
Gale will be the last of the three suspects tied to the incident to be sentenced. Bennett was sentenced May 19 to two terms of 15 years to life in prison for Martin's murder and the aggravated attempted murder of Rowley.
Rogers was sentenced May 30 to a term of 15 years of life in prison for Martin's murder; two prison terms of five years to life for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary; and two terms of one to 15 years in prison for the aggravated assault of Rowley, and for obstructing justice.
Bennett's defense lawyer Taylor Hartley told the court during Bennett's sentencing that Gale had persuaded the teenager to participate in the crime by telling him he could use the money from the robbery to help support his family, and the now-19-year-old is "haunted by what he did."
