The former Challenger Foundation field director, who was charged with 10 misdemeanors along with Challenger President Steve Cartisano, has agreed to testify against Cartisano.
Lance "Horsehair" Jagger entered a "diversion agreement" this week with Kane County Attorney Jim Scarth that defers prosecution for one year. If Jagger fulfills his part of the agreement, charges against him will be dropped completely in September 1991, according to an order signed in 6th Circuit Court Tuesday.The order requires Jagger to fully comply with "that certain written agreement" he made with Scarth, according to court records in Kanab. The court file did not include a copy of "that certain written agreement."
But sources and Jagger have confirmed it specifies how Jagger will testify against Cartisano.
Cartisano and Jagger were charged in August with child abuse and negligent homicide in connection with the June 27 death of Kristen Chase, 16, Ponte Vedra, Fla., who suffered heatstroke while hiking in the Challenger program. The two men also were charged with eight other counts of child abuse.
A controversial 63-day wilderness therapy program for youth, Challenger has been shut down by state licensing officials, who have hounded the company since Chase's death and reports of financial mismanagement.
Jagger told the Deseret News last week that he was kept in the dark by Cartisano and often disagreed with the way Cartisano ran the company. Jagger and two Challenger employees quit last month after not getting paid since mid-July.
Challenger also has filed for bankruptcy protection in face of numerous creditors, including the IRS. Cartisano owes the IRS $276,000.