Three northern Utah residents pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of distributing pornographic material at Utah County Movie Buffs video stores.
Susan Janae Kingston and Larry Warren Peterman, both of West Point, and Marjorie Ann Cramer, Clearfield, each face 15 third-degree felony counts and one class A misdemeanor. The trio are scheduled to stand trial beginning June 9 before 4th District Judge Lynn W. Davis.Defense attorney Jerry Mooney said he may file a motion to suppress evidence because the defendants believe the videos were seized illegally by Utah County law enforcement officers during an October 1996 raid. That motion would parallel a pending federal court action brought by Movie Buffs against Utah County.
Last month, attorneys for the two sides argued the legality of the seizure before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. Mooney said the federal judges should make a ruling before the June 9 trial date.
"They gave us the impression that they were aware of our schedule here and would give us a decision before the trial," he said.
If the Court of Appeals ruled that the videos were seized illegally, Utah County prosecutors would have little remaining evidence with which to proceed at trial.
Kingston, 41, owns Movie Buffs, and Peterman, 49, and Cramer, 50, are management-level employees.