Two teens accused in the shooting death of Utah Highway Patrol trooper Dennis Lund will stand trial Aug. 22.
Jason Scott Pearson, 18, and George Todd Kennedy, 16, appeared briefly in 7th District Court before Judge Bruce K. Halliday on Tuesday. Pearson and Kennedy are accused of shooting the trooper June 16 during a high-speed chase.Lund and other troopers attempted to stop the teens' vehicle after gas was stolen from a convenience store in Thompson, east of Green River. During the chase, Lund was shot once in the head with a .22-caliber rifle.
Halliday marked off two weeks for the trial, pending a move by the defense for a change of venue to Salt Lake City. Defense attorneys Stephen McCaughey and Kenneth Brown said they would likely file such a request within the month. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for July 19 in Castle Dale.
Halliday also approved a mental examination for Pearson and supported a June 20 cutoff date for motions not anticpated or already presented in the case - the latter suggested by David Blackwell, deputy Emery County attorney.
Blackwell assumed primary responsibility for the case after Emery County Attorney Mark H. Tanner pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal forgery charge. Blackwell was assisted Tuesday by Creighton Horton and Robert C. Lunnen, representing the Utah attorney general's office.
McCaughey is appealing the ruling that Kennedy is to be tried as an adult. Brown, Pearson's attorney, is preparing defense that the teen acted out of diminished capacity.
Pearson's mother, Kierste Cunningham, said she is disappointed her son must wait six more months to learn his fate but is glad for the extra time if it would help him. She supported the move for a mental examination of her son.
"My boy needs help, not to be crucified," she said. "It's the not knowing that's hard." Cunningham moved to Utah to be near Pearson during the court proceedings that followed his arrest. She will remain "until I can take my boy home," she said.
Kennedy and Pearson remain incarcerated in the Emery County Jail.