Latest news with #3rdDistrictCourt
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah man accused of buying child porn used cryptocurrency. Authorities say it's the first known case
The office of the Utah Attorney General at the Capitol in Salt Lake City is pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch) A Utah man has been arrested in what the attorney general's office says is the state's first known case where cryptocurrency was used to purchase child sex abuse material. Christopher Merritt, 39, was charged in Salt Lake County's 3rd District Court last week with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, all felonies. The case was investigated by the Utah Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, stemming from a tip from the electronic trading platform Robinhood. According to Robinhood, cryptocurrency — specifically Bitcoin and Ethereum — had been transferred to a wallet linked to child sexual abuse material, commonly known as child pornography. A wallet is how cryptocurrency investors store their keys, which are essentially passwords giving the owner access to their investments, and allowing them to send and receive cryptocurrency. The attorney general's office said the transaction took place on the dark web, a corner of the internet that is not indexed by search engines, like Chrome or Safari, and can be accessed through specialized software. Though not illegal, the dark web is often associated with criminal activities, since it's easier to remain anonymous. An agent with the task force traced Merritt's cryptocurrency transactions and found that his cryptocurrency wallet had sent funds to another wallet that the Internet Watch Foundation had associated with child pornography, according to court documents. According to a probable cause statement, Merritt sent $321 to sites associated with child pornography. When officers served a warrant on Merritt's home, they searched his phone and found 'hundreds of videos and images of children' being sexually assaulted, according to court documents. Officers also found a Tor browser on his phone and computer, which is used to access the dark web. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff accused of sexual assault in civil lawsuit
A Salt Lake County woman accused BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff of sexual assault in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake City. The woman, identified in court documents as Jane Doe A.G., claims she reported the alleged assault to Provo police but that an officer told her 'sexual assault victims never get justice.' In the complaint, the woman alleges Retzlaff 'raped, strangled and bit her' at his home in November 2023, after the two had connected on social media several weeks earlier. She is suing for alleged battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and is seeking punitive damages. Mark Baute, an attorney for Retzlaff, said in a statement that the quarterback is 'factually innocent.' 'I have met him, and he is a nice young man. He is also factually innocent, and we look forward to proving that innocence. Jake's focus this year will be on football. We don't try cases in the media, we will respect the process and establish Jake's innocence through the judicial system,' the statement said. Retzlaff had not been criminally charged as of Wednesday. BYU issued a statement saying the school became aware of the lawsuit Wednesday. 'The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment,' according to the statement. The Deseret News has reached out Provo police for a comment and requested any reports involving Retzlaff filed with the department. A few days after the alleged assault, Jane Doe A.G. went to the hospital where a rape kit was performed and pictures taken of a cut on her lip and bruises around her neck and on her inner thighs, according to the lawsuit. The woman was connected with the Provo Police Department, but initially did not share his name because the officer she spoke to said if she did, detectives would go to Retzlaff's house to question him and share her name with him, the lawsuit says. 'She was scared and in shock and not ready to confront him,' according to the lawsuit. After talking to police, an officer reached out to her asking for the name because someone else filed a complaint against a football player and the police wanted to see if it was the same person. 'At that point, Jane Doe A.G. shared Retzlaff's name, and the Provo police then encouraged her not to do anything because, as they claimed, 'sexual assault victims never get justice,' the lawsuit says. According to the lawsuit, the woman and friend went to Retzlaff's house on Nov. 22, 2023, to hang out. They went to his room to play the video game 'Fortnite' and while doing so she talked to some of his friends and BYU teammates. Later in the evening, she and Retzlaff started to watch a movie and began to kiss. According to the lawsuit, he began to touch her in places that she did not want him to and tried to pull away saying, 'wait.' 'She did not want to do anything sexual with him,' court documents say. As the situation escalated, she repeatedly told him 'no' and 'stop,' the lawsuit says. She claims Retzlaff became angry and shouted at her and that she tried to make a phone call but her cell phone was dead. The lawsuit then alleges Retzlaff sexually assaulted her. Retzlaff led BYU to an 11-2 record last season in his first year as the starting quarterback. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention recognition. A 2023 transfer from Riverside City College in California, Retzlaff is the first Jewish starting quarterback at BYU, which is sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Yahoo
Will Ralph Menzies' dementia keep him from a firing squad? Attorneys make final argument
Ralph Leroy Menzies during a competency hearing in 3rd District Court in West Jordan on Monday, Nov 18, 2024. (Pool photo by Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune) After nearly 40 years on death row, a judge will soon determine whether Ralph Menzies' dementia is advanced enough to spare him from being executed by firing squad. Lawyers for the 67-year-old convicted murderer say his brain is so damaged he can't form a 'rational understanding' of why the state is pursuing the death penalty — prosecutors for the Utah Attorney General's Office say while Menzies might be impaired, he is still 'clearly competent.' Attorneys for both sides met at the 3rd District Courthouse in West Jordan on Wednesday to make their final oral arguments before Judge Matthew Bates, who will issue a ruling sometime in the next 60 days. It marked what is likely one of the final hearings to determine whether Menzies is competent enough to face execution, the end of a monthslong process that included testimony from numerous medical experts and the victim's family. The competency hearing began in November, but due to scheduling and logistical conflicts, final oral arguments were pushed to May 7. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Menzies was brought into the West Jordan courtroom at about 2 p.m. Wednesday. The death row inmate sat in a wheelchair with oxygen tubes running up his nose during the hearing, sporting a scruffy, somewhat unkempt white beard and short, receding brownish-grey hair. He would occasionally lean over to speak with members of his legal team, but otherwise sat in silence during the roughly hour-long hearing. Menzies was sentenced to death in 1988 after he kidnapped and murdered Maurine Hunsaker, a 26-year-old gas station clerk. Menzies took her up Big Cottonwood Canyon, where she was later found tied to a tree with her throat slashed. In recent years, Menzies' health has deteriorated, his attorneys say. After falling several times in prison, he was diagnosed with vascular dementia, where the brain's blood flow is disrupted, leading to memory loss and declining cognitive function. An MRI exam showed Menzies' brain tissue is deteriorating, and his balance is fraught, causing him to fall several times each month. According to his attorneys, Menzies is so impaired by his dementia that he does not have a 'rational understanding' of why he is facing execution, meaning he can't make the link between his crime and the punishment. That means society's goal of retribution and deterrence — the foundational goals of the death penalty — aren't being fulfilled, they say. Per Utah code, and U.S. Supreme Court case law, that means he should be deemed too incompetent to face an execution, his lawyers say. On Wednesday, Menzies' attorney Lindsey Layer pointed to MRI results that showed the death row inmate had 'the highest level' of brain damage, with parts of it atrophied and filled with fluid. There are also the physical signs, backed by the medical experts hired by Menzies' attorneys who found him to be incompetent. He struggles with basic activities, Layer said, like forgetting to bathe, flush the toilet or renew medication, and often has issues with his personal finances and the prison commissary (a store for inmates). 'His inability to engage in what is a fairly simple process of renewing his medication,' said Layer, 'demonstrates his inability to engage in that analytical thought that is necessary to have a rational understanding of the state's reasoning for his execution.' That rational understanding was at the heart of Layer's argument, and she repeatedly underscored the difference between awareness and understanding. 'Mr. Menzies can understand the concrete things,' Layer said. 'He can understand, 'I was sentenced to death and the state is going to kill me.' But what he can't understand is the how or why.' Daniel Boyer with the Utah Attorney General's Office pushed back on the standard of competency outlined by Layer, telling the judge Menzies simply needs to understand why the state is pursuing his execution. If the court agrees with that standard, Boyer said, 'he's clearly competent.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Boyer encouraged Bates to listen to recordings of Menzies' recent phone conversations, which show 'his ability to converse, to problem solve' — and Menzies' use of his prison-issued tablet. 'I think the tablet is a good indicator of his competency,' Boyer said, noting that he can buy items from the commissary, check his finances, and access prison rules and policies. 'This showed an extraordinarily high level of functioning.' Matt Hunsaker, Maurine's son, gave his first statement to the court since the competency hearing began last year. In the decades since his mother's murder, he's attended hearing after hearing, read countless rulings and court orders, and advocated nonstop for Menzies' execution. It's the end of the road for Hunsaker. If Bates finds Menzies incompetent to be executed, he won't protest the ruling. 'I don't envy you for the decision you have to make,' Hunsaker told Bates. 'I just want to put it out there — this man took my mom from a gas station where she was trying to support her family.' Speaking to reporters outside of the courtroom, Hunsaker repeated a familiar sentiment — he's tired of this. 'It's taken a toll on the whole family. There is some closure possibly ahead, but 39 years, two months, nine days, that's a long time,' he said. 'I've got a grandbaby now, it's time to shift the focus of wasting time on this, and bring a new little girl into the family.' Hunsaker didn't want to speculate on how Bates will rule, telling Utah News Dispatch 'there's good arguments on both sides.' 'My personal opinion is he's competent. He knows what he did. It's time to stop with the games. He needs to be executed. And again, I believe this is just a delay tactic,' he said. Bates, while asking several questions during both Menzies' and the state's arguments, offered no indication of how he would rule. He concluded Wednesday's hearing telling attorneys that he'll issue a ruling in the next 60 days. In Utah, death row inmates sentenced before May 2004 had a choice between lethal injection and firing squad. For those sentenced after 2004, the default method of execution is lethal injection, unless the necessary drugs are not available. Firing squads are rare in the U.S. But earlier this year, South Carolina executed two inmates by firing squad — Brad Sigmon and Mikal Mahdi — making it the first state other than Utah to utilize the method in the last several decades. According to the Associated Press, at least 144 civilian prisoners have been executed by firing squad in the U.S. since 1608, almost all of them in Utah.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Opinion: The personal and profound costs of the Utah Fits All court ruling
I had a conversation recently with a mom whose homeschooled son had just experienced a major breakthrough. As a student on the spectrum, asking for help was a big barrier for him, causing him to get stuck while doing school work. Through equine therapy, he found his voice. Another mom shared with me that her small business had gone under after the pandemic and she almost had to pull her children out of the microschool where they were thriving. But at the last minute, they were able to stay. A few months ago, I watched a previously shy student stand before a room of 600 and talk about his education at a high quality private school and his future plans for college. What changed the game for each of them? The Utah Fits All Scholarship. Utah families have been using this scholarship for just under a year now, and the reaction I most frequently get when I ask them how it's going is tears of joy and gratitude. Learning is supposed to be a joyful experience as children follow their curiosity, dig for knowledge, explore the world through books and nature, and decide which life and career paths intrigue them. But for many forced into an education system that doesn't fit, learning has increasingly become a frustration. So for thousands of Utah families, Utah Fits All wasn't just policy — it was possibility! It was the answer to late-night worries, mounting frustration and students slipping through the cracks. Designed to give parents the freedom to choose an education path customized to fit their child's unique needs, this innovative program has transformed lives in under nine months. Children with learning differences discovered environments where they could finally thrive. Struggling students gained confidence. Families felt hope. But that hope now hangs in the balance. In a stunning decision, Judge Laura Scott of Utah's 3rd District Court ruled the Utah Fits All program unconstitutional — a singular judgment that threatens to abruptly derail the progress these students have made and extinguish the hope so recently kindled. The ruling isn't just a legal blow; it's a disruption to real lives, real classrooms and real futures. If allowed to stand, this decision could strip families of the very tools that made education accessible, equitable and effective. The cost of this ruling isn't theoretical — it's personal, and it's profound. Ten thousand students are using the scholarship this year, and thousands more have recently applied in hopes that they, too, will be given the opportunity to choose an education that aligns better with their values, expectations and unique learning needs. What will the costs be if we turn our back on these children and allow this scholarship to go away? The costs will be felt by parents like Amy, from Francis. She says, 'Receiving the Utah Fits All Scholarship has opened up so many opportunities for the education of our 13-year old son … He is truly enjoying school more this year than he has in the past. I can't fully explain how transformative Utah Fits All has been for our son's education.' Autumn from Moroni says that when her daughter was in preschool, she was a single mom and toured her dream school for her daughter. 'Because of my circumstances,' she says, 'it was impossible for me to afford the tuition. Having my daughter finally be able to attend the private school of our choice is a dream come true.' Tiffany from Ivins is a mother of five biological and eight adopted children. 'Because there are multiple diagnoses of fetal alcohol, ADHD, autism, anxiety and dyslexia, these children are delayed in their progress.' But, she says, 'The Utah Fits All Scholarship has helped us to beat the odds.' Ultimately, our children will pay with their hopes, confidence and futures. And that's not okay with me. This should concern any Utahn who wants to ensure that the children of our state are able to find the educational path that best fits their needs and leads them to success. We now place our confidence in the Utah Supreme Court to rule favorably and uphold the constitutionality of the Utah Fits All law.
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Yahoo
Judge denies request for more testimony as Kouri Richins' case moves ‘full speed ahead' to trial
A judge on Friday ruled against letting Kouri Richins' attorneys question more detectives. Attorneys for Richins — a Kamas mom accused of killing her husband and then writing a children's book about grief — had asked the court to reopen the opportunity for testimony about what evidence should be presented at trial, including audio from an interview along with cellphone and electronic data. The defense attorneys claimed there were problems with a state's witness testimony at a recent hearing. Summit County prosecutors called the request "a cheap litigation trick" and claimed the request was based on feelings rather than fact. Prosecutors explained that although one officer testified about not knowing Richins had an attorney, another officer when preparing for the hearing had said he did know she had an attorney. In response to prosecutors calling the defense attorneys' request "desperate" and "poppycock," Richins' attorneys said they "will not sink to that level, and we will continue to do what we must to protect our client's rights and hold the prosecution accountable for their actions." Richins' attorney Kathryn Nester said a summary provided to the defense team by prosecutors said three witnesses had relayed conversations about whether or not Richins could be interviewed. Third District Judge Richard Mrazik said during a hearing on Friday that regardless of whether the officers knew Richins had an attorney, the interview did not violate her Sixth Amendment rights. He said the discussion of what the officer knew is irrelevant to the Sixth Amendment because prosecutors had not yet filed charges or committed to prosecuting her. He said this is a different question than her Fifth Amendment rights, which concern whether she had a right to counsel. Richins' attorneys at the hearing on Friday said prosecutors and officers discussed whether to interview Richins on that day, which she claimed also breached attorney conduct rules. Mrazik said they could talk about that aspect again in court, but he would need her to provide Utah case law about it first. During the hearing, attorneys also discussed the jury questionnaire in detail, but the judge said it would not be sent out yet because Richins' attorneys plan to ask for the jury trial to be held in another venue, likely Salt Lake County. On Tuesday, Utah's Supreme Court issued a final decision confirming decisions made by the 3rd District Court that the jury selection in the case would be remote and that jurors could be pulled only from Summit County. Mrazik had said he was fine with the request to have jury selection in person and to include potential jurors from Salt Lake County, something attorneys on both sides agreed on, but the decision was ultimately up to the presiding judge in the district. Likely because these requests were denied, Richins attorneys are seeking to instead have the jury trial in Salt Lake County with jurors who may be less familiar with the case and people involved in it. On March 4, attorneys will present oral arguments around what evidence can be shown at trial. Richins is also scheduled for hearings on March 17 and 18 to discuss other motions before her trial begins in April. Mrazik encouraged the attorneys to work together on timing and said there has been no motion to delay the trial. If there was a request to delay the trial, he would be "disinclined" to grant it. He said "it is full speed ahead" toward trial, noting to the attorneys that pressure from the time is only going to increase as it gets closer. Richins was arrested in 2023 and later charged with murder in the 2022 death of her husband, Eric Richins, who was 39. During the year between his death and her arrest, Kouri Richins published a children's book about grief. She is accused of administering a fatal dose of fentanyl to her husband in March 2022 and has also been charged with giving him a lethal dose of drugs on Valentine's Day a few weeks earlier. The jury during Richins' upcoming trial will be asked to determine whether she is guilty of charges of aggravated murder and attempted murder, first-degree felonies; two counts of filing a fraudulent insurance claim, a second-degree felony; and one count of forgery, a third-degree felony.
