PROVO -- A Santaquin man charged in the death of another man made his first appearance in court Tuesday morning.
Darren Tuckett, 30, was charged Monday with criminal homicide by assault, a third-degree felony.He is accused in the death of Kirk Openshaw, 39, Payson, who was found dead at the bottom of a flight of stairs at his home Nov. 15.
Police initially responded to the scene on a report of a fall, but witnesses described a fight between Openshaw, Tuckett and another person. Police alleged alcohol and drugs may have been a factor.
Tuckett was arrested the next day, but released nine days later when the county attorney's office filed no charges. He was rearrested later the same day on a probation violation on a 1995 case in which he pleaded guilty to third-degree felony possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Prosecutors allege he had used drugs the day he was arrested for investigation into Openshaw's death.
Tuckett tearfully told 4th District Judge Anthony Schofield that that has no desire to ever use alcohol or drugs again because of his friend's death.
"It pains me that he is no longer alive," he said. "I have no desire again to not be in control or be able to make a rational decision."
Deputy Utah County Attorney Matthew Jube asked for $50,000 bail, but Schofield set it at $10,000. A waiver hearing is set for 10 a.m. Friday before Judge Ray Harding Sr.
Tuckett appears before Schofield Wednesday on the probation violation.