A Layton man convicted Oct. 18 of second-degree murder was granted a new trial Monday in 1st District Court.
John Pendergrass, 20, had been charged with capital homicide for the shooting death of Ray Jenkins, 22, Ogden in May 1987, but was convicted of the lesser charges.Jenkins' body was found in July 1987 when Pendergrass took Box Elder County deputies to the body, hidden in a sleeping bag near the south marina of Willard Bay.
Pendergrass was convicted of shooting Jenkins twice in the head, hiding his belongings and his body, and then stealing Jenkins' pickup truck. Pendergrass was picked up in California in August 1987 on unrelated Utah forgery charges and extradited to Utah.
Pendergrass was questioned by Box Elder deputies regarding Jenkins' disappearance. Jenkins and Pendergrass had gone fishing at Willard Bay a couple of days before Jenkins was reported missing.
A jury found Pendergrass guilty of second-degree murder and theft after eight hours of deliberation. He was sentenced two days later to five years to life in prison by 1st District Judge Gordon Low.
In the motion for a new trial, defense attorney Dale Dorius said 51 pages of police transcript and two pages and two photos from a state medical examiner's report were inadvertently given to the jury. Prosecutors had not asked that the materials be admitted into evidence.
A new trial date has not been set.