On Jan. 22, in the small community of Beryl, Iron County, two men helped drill a small hole in a woman's head for producers of the ABC News program "20/20."

The television program, which aired Feb. 10, resulted in criminal charges and arrest warrants for co-defendants Peter Evan Halvorson, 53, and Williams E. Lyons, 45, who are both charged with practicing medicine without a license, a third-degree felony.

Despite reports that the two men would surrender this week, the pair remain at large. Now, Salt Lake attorney Mark Besendorfer says he has reached a tentative agreement with Iron County prosecutor Scott Burns to have Lyons surrender May 2. Besendorfer also has been in contact with Halvorson and expects the Pennsylvania man to surrender the same day.

"We are just working to get (Halvorson) some legal counsel in Salt Lake," said Besendorfer, who will represent Lyons, who is out of state but has ties to the Cedar City area.

The "20/20" case involves trepanation — an ancient pseudo-medical procedure that drills a hole into a person's brain cavity. The body's natural healing mechanism automatically works to repair the wound, thus supplying more blood flow to the brain. Proponents of the procedure say it fights depression and offers a natural high.

An initial step of the trepanation procedure was filmed by a "20/20" crew at a Beryl home, described on television as a remote location in a Western state. The procedure was reportedly finished at another secret location, 5th District Court documents state.

Because of the report's secretive nature, Burns believes the "20/20" crew knew they were witnessing an illegal act and had been considering filing charges against reporter Chris Cuomo for aiding in the crime.

"The question is, did they encourage the committance of this crime by goading or encouraging them to do it for publicity?" Burns asked. While he has not completely abandoned the idea, Burns now says it is unlikely anyone from the television show will be charged criminally.

"In a small county the cost of taking on '20/20' and paying for witnesses for that type of prosecution is not realistic. . . . I don't know if Iron County is in a position to lead the nation in a fight against the First Amendment."

Cuomo didn't return calls for interview.

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In Utah, court precedent has been set for the type of criminal law case Burns would file against Cuomo. In 1999, the 7th District Court of Appeals found that former KTVX reporter Mary Sawyers had to stand trial on charges she contributed to the delinquency of a minor for allegedly provoking a group of Carbon County High School students to use tobacco products for a story on youths and tobacco.

"It's an issue that's ripe for a lawsuit," Burns said.

If the pseudo-doctors decide to surrender next week, they will make an initial court appearance and be formally booked into Iron County Jail where they likely will be released on bail. Besendorfer hinted he would like to settle the case outside the courtroom but said he isn't averse to bringing the case before a jury.


You can reach Brady Snyder by e-mail at bsnyder@desnews.com

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