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SALT LAKE CITY — A full jury will decide whether a gun sold to Trolley Square shooter Sulejman Talovic by a local pawn shop was done legally.
On Monday, 3rd District Judge Glenn Iwasaki denied motions for summary judgment by both the defense and plaintiffs in the civil suit against Rocky Mountain Enterprises, also known as Sportsman's Fast Cash, and the pawn shop employee who sold the gun to Talovic, Westley Hill.
The suit was filed by Carolyn Tuft who, along with her 15-year-old daughter Kirsten Hinckley, were shot by Talovic on Feb. 12, 2007. Hinckley was killed. Tuft survived but told the court she still suffers, both physically and emotionally, to this day.
Talovic, 18, shot and killed five people and wounded four others at Trolley Square before being killed in a shootout with police.
We look forward to presenting our case to a jury.
–Michael Hansen, defense attorney
At the heart of the controversy is whether the Mossberg 88 pistol-grip 12-gauge weapon sold to Talovic qualifies under the legal definition as a "shotgun." It is illegal to sell a firearm to a person under 21, with the exception of shotguns and rifles.
The weapon Talovic bought came with a pistol grip. Plaintiffs say that made the sale of the gun illegal. The defense, however, argued the gun was made to be fired from either a pistol grip or from the shoulder, thus qualifying it as a shotgun.
Both sides had asked Iwasaki for summary judgment on various points. Iwasaki declined on all, instead saying it will be up to a jury to decide the issues. But both sides said Monday they believe the decision was in their favor.
This ruling obviously is hugely important for Carolyn Tuft. It means she gets her day in court.
–Daniel Vice, attorney for Brady Center
"We view it as a big win," said Tuft's Salt Lake attorney, Mark Williams. "The big hurdle was we get past their motion for summary judgment. This means we'll put the case in the hands of a jury. A lot of times you get defeated at summary judgment level. We get the opportunity to get to trial."
Tuft is also represented by the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
"This ruling obviously is hugely important for Carolyn Tuft. It means she gets her day in court. But it also sends a signal to gun dealers nationwide that if they break the law, they can be held accountable in court too," said Daniel Vice, lead attorney for the Brady Center.
But defense attorney Michael Hansen also felt confident about Monday's decision.
"We look forward to presenting our case to a jury," he said. "We feel confident the pawn shop and pawn shop employee did nothing wrong. The firearm was a shotgun and could legally be sold to him. We feel very good about the decision."
Hansen noted that at the end of January, a district court judge in Provo ruled in a similar suit brought by Trolley victim Stacy Hanson that the weapon was not a shotgun, since it's not designed to rest against the shooter's shoulder. That decision came in a summary judgment. Hansen believes that ruling was wrong.
But he also noted that Iwasaki was fully aware of the previous ruling, but opted to go to a full jury anyway in Tuft's case. Hansen believes that was a good sign for his client.
Hansen also argued that Talovic did nothing out of the ordinary in the pawn shop that day or anything that would have raised the suspicions of pawn shop employees. Criminal charges originally filed against his client were later dropped. He eventually pleaded guilty in federal court to a misdemeanor count of not asking for two forms of identification from Talovic.
Williams predicted the case would get to trial in the spring of 2012.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com
