WEST VALLEY CITY — Her failure to use flashing lights and a siren on the way to an emergency could land a former Salt Lake County sheriff's deputy in jail and has cost her her job in law enforcement.
A 3rd District Court jury Friday morning found Carla Redding guilty of one count each of class A misdemeanor negligent homicide, class B misdemeanor negligent collision and class C misdemeanor speeding for the June 8, 2002, accident that left 19-year-old Malarie Hilton dead.
The courtroom was filled to capacity at the three-day trial's end with family members and friends of both Redding and Hilton. After the verdict was read, Hilton's family members expressed relief and a feeling of vindication.
"An officer of the law has to be held to the same standards" as civilians, Mark Hilton, Malarie's father, said after the verdict. "It was starting to look to us like there was going to be a double standard."
Defense attorney Ed Brass said he was "extremely disappointed" and surprised by the verdict. He said it is premature to say whether he plans to appeal, but he said it remains an option.
Mark Hilton also was a bit surprised by the verdict.
"I thought it was the right verdict, but I wasn't sure that's what it would be," he said. He said he had thought the jury might convict Redding on the two lesser charges but acquit her on the negligent homicide charge.
And Brass said he learned after the verdict was read that acquittal wasn't an unrealistic prediction: He said someone who had spoken with a juror told him that when jurors went home Thursday night after more than four hours of deliberating, they were split 5-1 in favor of acquittal.
Third District Judge Terry Christiansen would not release a list of jurors, so no comment was available on whether there was a split or, if so, why so many changed their minds Friday morning.
The crash occurred as Redding rushed to respond to a fellow deputy's call for backup after 11 p.m. She testified Thursday that as she drove east on 5415 South in Kearns, her mind was filled with possible scenarios her co-worker could be facing: His radio call had mentioned a newly reopened bar that had been the scene of a murder a year earlier.
In her testimony, Redding described a flurry of activity and chaos crammed into a few minutes between the time she drove off in her police vehicle and the time the car carrying Hilton and three other young women turned left in front of her. That chaos, she said, was the reason she never got around to turning on her flashing lights and sirens.
In closing arguments, prosecutor Brenda Beaton told jurors that Redding's failure to warn other motorists she was responding to an emergency, coupled with her speed, which experts estimate was between 69 and 71 mph in the 40-mph zone, was the cause of the accident.
Redding, who now works for the Murray Police Department, will lose her job there as a result of the convictions, Brass said. She also could face 21 months in jail and a fine of $4,250 at her Aug. 23 sentencing.
E-mail: dsmeath@desnews.com