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CEDAR CITY — Two men — including one who was recently convicted of murdering two people and was sentenced to at least 50 years in prison — are facing potential new charges after police say they attacked staff members at a youth center in Cedar City.
Investigators say both young men expressed sentiments that they essentially have nothing to lose or didn't care what new charges they could face.
Daniel Martinez, 20, and Turner Simons, 18, were pulled from the facility and booked into the Iron County Jail Wednesday. By Thursday afternoon, both had been charged in 5th District Court with three counts of assault by a prisoner, a third-degree felony.
In May, Martinez was convicted as an adult of two counts of aggravated murder for gunning down two people in 2022 outside of an Airbnb in Draper where a party was being held. The killings happened two days before Martinez turned 18.
On Wednesday, Martinez and Simons attacked staff members at the Southwest Utah Youth Center in Cedar City, where they were being housed, according to a police booking affidavit.
"Officers were told that one staff member was down. Upon arrival, officers proned out the two individuals on Taser," the affidavit states. "Per the victims, the males had a plan to attack staff together. Daniel and Turner attacked three different staff (members) together, causing substantial bodily injury. During the event, items were thrown at staff, and they were kicked and punched. One victim was kicked in the head. Another victim had a significant amount of blood on his face from where he was hit."
After Simons was taken into custody, police added two counts of aggravated assault Thursday afternoon to his jail booking affidavit.
"After further investigation, it was discovered that Turner Simons had grabbed one of the victim's lanyards and wrapped it around his neck in an attempt to strangle him. Two of the victims were taken to the hospital. One victim's nose was broken in the assault," the new affidavit states.
Brett Peterson, director of Utah's Division of Juvenile Justice Services, told KSL.com on Thursday that the three staff members are doing "OK," and that he was headed to Cedar City to personally meet with them.
For his conviction on two counts of aggravated murder, Martinez was sentenced on July 18 to two consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison.
Police noted in the arrest report following Wednesday's assault: "Throughout their interaction with officers, the individuals have made several statements about not caring what happens or what charges they face. Daniel mentioned having a 50-year sentence and not caring about anything anymore."
Peterson says it is not uncommon to house a person convicted of murder in a juvenile facility or house someone waiting to be tried on that charge. Potentially, a person who commits a crime while under the age of 18 can be housed in a youth facility until they turn 25 — "assuming they're not a safety or security risk" and are amenable to treatment, he said.
Martinez had been in the juvenile system "for some time" despite being charged as an adult, as he went through his legal proceedings, Peterson said. Until Wednesday, he said Martinez had not given them any reason to believe that he was a security risk.
After Wednesday's incident, both Martinez and Simons were transferred to the Iron County Jail. Peterson said Martinez is now waiting to be picked up by officers from the Utah Department of Corrections, who will transfer him to the Utah State Prison.
