Man accused of killing Santaquin police Sgt. Bill Hooser requests new defense

SALT LAKE CITY — It has been a year since Santaquin police Sgt. Bill Hooser was killed during a traffic stop along Interstate 15. The man accused of running him over with a semitruck was back in court Wednesday as the case moves closer to trial. Wednesday's court appearance was requested by Michael Jayne, the man accused of killing Hooser, because he wanted one of his attorneys off the case. It was a virtual hearing between Jayne, his defense, the prosecution and the judge.Rudy Bautista, who is Jayne's main attorney, said he was OK with taking Nick Falcone off the defense team and adding Brad Henderson. The state's attorney, Chad Grunander, also said he is OK with the switch but has concerns about the defense bringing on an attorney this late, with Jayne's preliminary hearing set to begin June 30. He doesn't want there to be any excuses for a delay.

Related: Family calls Sgt. Hooser a hero saying he died doing what he loved

"This is a relatively complex case," Grunander said. "The stakes, of course, are very high with death on the table ... Mr. Jayne is entitled to two attorneys, clearly, under Rule 8 and two attorneys that can effectively represent him."However, Jayne then told the court he didn't trust his defense, and wanted to request a meeting with the judge and the prosecutors to discuss his concerns without them — a move that would be typically prohibited in a criminal case. "My life is at stake. I'm fighting for my life and I do have some serious concerns about my defense and I don't want to continue to come back to the court and file motions to air out those concerns," Jayne said during his court appearance. Jayne's attorney recommended he stop talking about it because of reporters who were in the virtual hearing. Judge Thomas Low set another hearing for June 11 to see if the issues Jayne has with his attorneys can be worked out, so that the preliminary hearings can take place as scheduled on June 30 and July 1. Jayne is accused of killing Hooser on I-15 on May 5, 2024, when he fled a traffic stop that Hooser and a Utah Highway Patrol trooper had initiated. According to police, Jayne pinned Hooser between the semitruck and the UHP trooper's patrol vehicle, and he was killed on impact. Later, investigators learned there was a woman Jayne had been hiding the cabin of the semitruck, who ran out to Hooser and the trooper during the traffic stop, saying she had been held against her will. Jayne attempted to run all of them down, but was only successful in hitting Hooser. The woman and the trooper escaped narrowly. What followed was an hourslong manhunt across multiple counties, in which police said Jayne stole various vehicles to evade authorities. He was finally located over 170 miles away from the scene of the traffic stop, and was taken into custody and later charged with nine felonies.

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