DUCHESNE -- An 8th District Court judge was expected to rule Monday afternoon in a defense motion for a change of venue for accused double murder suspect John R Pinder, 41.
Pinder is being held without bond in the Summit County jail in connection with the Oct. 25, 1998, shooting deaths of two of his former employees at his Duchesne County ranch. His trial is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2000.Defense attorney Ron Yengich has asked the court to move Pinder's trial from Duchesne County because of extensive local, state and national media coverage in the county with a population of approximately 25,000. Questionnaires sent to prospective jurors last summer showed the majority of respondents would be dismissed from serving on the jury because of prior knowledge about the case. In addition to media coverage of the case, the Pinder family is also well-known in the area and has vast land holdings and business dealings in both Duchesne and neighboring Uintah counties.
Last week, Pinder's former ranch hand, Filomeno Valenchia-Ruiz, 35, agreed to plead guilty to reduced murder charges and cooperate with prosecutors during the Pinder murder trial. A few days after the plea, more body parts, believed to belong to victims Rex K. Tanner, 48, and June Flood, 59, were located during a two-day search at Pinder's JJNP Ranch.
Sheriff Ralph Stansfield said the remains were found in an area of the ranch that had not been searched previously and were located with the aid of cadaver search dogs.Investigators allege that after Pinder and Ruiz kidnaped Kettle and Flood, they took them to the remote Lake Canyon site on the ranch, where they were shot and then blown up.