CEDAR CITY — Two teenagers charged with the murder of a counselor for troubled boys made an initial appearance in 5th District Court on Wednesday.
Jesse Simmons and Sean Graham, both 17, appeared by video from the Iron County Correctional Facility, where they have been held with no bail since their extradition from Las Vegas on Monday. The teens were booked on charges of aggravated murder, a capital offense, aggravated kidnapping and theft in the beating death of 31-year-old Parowan resident Anson Arnett last week.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said he has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty against the co-defendants.
In court on Wednesday, Simmons and Graham waived their right to a preliminary hearing within the next 10 to 30 days, according to the attorneys hired by the teens' families, but they reserved the right to schedule one at a later date.
Simmons and Graham were enrolled in Maximum Life Skills Academy, a residential youth treatment center licensed to house up to 11 boys ages 12 to 17.
State licensing officials revoked the facility's license on Friday, citing three rule violations that included failure to schedule two counselors to work each shift. Arnett was the only counselor working in the home at the time of the attack.
Maximum Life Skills Academy Director Adam Ah Quin, who disputes the state's allegations, said he sent the remaining four boys in the program home over the weekend.
Arnett, who had worked at the facility less than six months, was blindsided from behind and struck with a baseball bat as he came up a staircase in the split-level group home, according to a probable cause statement filed in 5th District Court.
A bloodied and severely injured Arnett was found about 1 1/2 hours after the attack, stuffed upside down inside a locked closet, according to the statement. Phone lines to the home had been cut, and the company van was missing. Arnett died at a Salt Lake hospital the next day.
A former classmate of Graham's said she was shocked when she read a news story on the Cedar City murder.
"Sean was a very outgoing person and made friends easily when he first arrived at Gaithersburg High School at the beginning of his sophomore year in 2002," said Jennifer P., adding that her memories of Graham included his non-judgmental attitude toward others. "When I first learned of this incident I was shocked, and still am in shock. I truly believe, with all my heart, that Sean did not intentionally murder this man."
Simmons attended an academic prep school in Greenville, Delaware. He spent nearly 12 years at Tatnall School before his parents withdrew him, according to a school spokesman.
E-mail: nperkins@infowest.com