Within days of trial, defendant enters plea in southern Utah murder case

More than four years after a man was shot to death in Apple Valley, the defendant, who allegedly confessed to the shooting in 2019, entered a "no contest" plea.

More than four years after a man was shot to death in Apple Valley, the defendant, who allegedly confessed to the shooting in 2019, entered a "no contest" plea. (Stace Hall, KSL-TV)


Save Story

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

ST. GEORGE — More than four years after a man was shot to death in Apple Valley, the defendant, who allegedly confessed to the shooting in 2019, entered a "no contest" plea.

A pretrial hearing on the case was scheduled to take place at the 5th District Court on April 11, less than four days before the start of the trial. But instead of a review, defendant Jason Howard Clinger, 56, of Apple Valley, entered a plea of "no contest" to first-degree murder. The remaining charges were dismissed.

The hearing was held before District Judge Keith C. Barnes. Prosecutor Zachary Weiland represented the state, and Clinger was represented by defense attorney Ryan Stout.

According to the statement supporting the "no contest" plea, the defendant agreed that his conduct provided the basis for the charges and accepted the conviction but was not admitting to the crime.

Read the full article at St. George News.

Related stories

Most recent Southern Utah stories

Related topics

Cody Blowers
    KSL.com Beyond Series
    KSL.com Beyond Business

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button