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96 South Main Street, PO Box 77, Nephi, Utah 84648 - Voice: 435 623-0525 - FAX: 435 623-4735 On our front page this week August 25, 2021 |
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By Myrna Trauntvein Troy Pexton, 57, Nephi, was released from jail earlier this month on a $10,000 bond when Fourth District Court Judge Anthony Howell dismissed the murder charge Pexton was facing, but that dismissal is now being reviewed by the attorney general. “We decided to take Judge Howell’s suggestion and have the attorney general review his decision for consideration of filing an appeal,” said Ryan Peters, Juab County Attorney. “In Utah, only the Attorney General has the authority to appeal decisions on felonies that are made in the District Courts. We have to ask them to review it and then they make the decision on whether to file an appeal. We asked the Attorney General to do so at Judge Howell’s insistence.” The state may appeal a court’s order dismissing a charge. The state attorney general’s office is now reviewing the case to see if there are grounds to support the appeal. The justification hearing is new to the State of Utah, was put into effect by the Utah State Legislature in May and was Judge Howell’s first such hearing. A pretrial conference for August 10, at 8:30 a.m. in Fourth District Court in Nephi for abuse or desecration of a human body has been put on hold and will not be held on that date. A new date will be set pending review of the case. At the hearing, evidence was presented that at his first appearance at Central Valley Medical Center following an altercation with Michael Caussey, 56, Scott Blackett, 41, was treated and then told to see his primary physician and to return to the hospital if his condition worsened. Later, another physician reviewed the medical record and ordered radiology. The finding of that medical report was that Blackett had suffered traumatic brain damage and a fracture of the spine that required a fusion of the vertebrae. “The evidence admitted at the preliminary hearing and the justification hearing established that Blackett’s injuries occurred 9-12 years ago,” said Peters. On August 2 and 3, the case against Pexton was presented by prosecuting attorneys representing the state: Perry Davis, senior deputy county attorney, Peters and Laurel Hanks. Pexton’s defense attorneys, Michael Petro and Leah Aston, presented in his behalf. No one can appeal a court decision simply because they are unhappy with the outcome but must have a legal ground to file the appeal. An appeal is when a higher court is asked to review a decision by a judge in a lower court The higher court looks at the record, which includes the transcript, evidence and documents from the court, and decides if the judge made any mistakes of law. New evidence cannot be entered when an appeal is requested. The higher court only looks at what was said and done in court. In his summary, Howell said that on November 27, 2020, several friends had gone to the West Desert and had visited several historic sites. “In the early afternoon, one vehicle returned to Nephi,” said Howell. He reiterated that, as part of the presentation on August 2, Curg Sperry, a friend of Pexton’s who had been in the desert on the excursion was the one who had left early to return to Nephi. Pexton, Blackett and Caussey remained behind and continued traveling together. They arrived at a pass in the West Desert and then the problem between the friends occurred. At that point, Blackett was struck in the head forcefully by Caussey. Caussey was reported to be in the front passenger seat and Blackett was in the backseat, said Howell. Pexton was the driver. It was reported that Blackett asked why Caussey had struck him. Nevertheless, Caussey kept striking Blackett, said Howell. Howell said that Pexton reacted by pulling out his gun and shooting Caussey in the head, killing him. Howell said that Sperry offered testimony that when Pexton returned to Nephi he told Sperry that he had shot his friend to protect Blackett. Pexton was originally charged with murder, a first-degree felony, and abuse or desecration of a dead body, a third-degree felony. “We are mindful that there is only one available witness,” Howell said. | ||
