The Utah Supreme Court must decide whether a former group home teen may face up to two decades in prison for his role in the murder of a Cedar City counselor.
An attorney with the Utah Attorney General's Office argued that a district court judge was in error when he reduced a charge of aggravated murder to simple murder against 18-year-old Sean Graham during a preliminary hearing. The lower court judge found Graham not as responsible for the death of counselor Anson Arnett as his accomplice, Jesse Simmons, 18.
The two were both charged with aggravated murder after for assaulting Arnett with a baseball bat, stuffing his unconscious and convulsing body in a closet, and using the group home's van to escape to Las Vegas.
Prosecutors say Simmons and Graham had plotted to escape the group home after counselors caught them cheating on their English lessons just one week before they were to be released. For cheating, counselors told Simmons, of Wilmington, Del., and Graham, of Rockville, Md., they would be spending another month at the home.
On the night of March 8, 2004, Simmons hid an aluminum baseball bat in his sleeping bag. Using eye signals from Graham, Simmons struck the unsuspecting Arnett in the back of his head with the bat. Still staggering, again Simmons used Graham's eye signals to strike Arnett a second time, sending him to the ground convulsing.
The two then frisked the still convulsing Arnett for keys, cut the phone line and stole items, including a drug box. The teens then wedged Arnett upsidedown against a filing cabinet in a locked closet before fleeing in the van. The two were later arrested in Las Vegas. Arnett died the next day at a Salt Lake hospital.
Before the Supreme Court Wednesday, assistant Utah Attorney General Laura DuPaix argued that Graham's responsibility in the case warranted aggravated murder and that a jury should decide to what extent Graham should be held accountable.
Simmons was charged with aggravated murder but struck a plea deal and was sentenced to five years to life in May 2005. Graham is still awaiting trial.
David Kindopp, attorney for Graham, argued that the language of the law between aggravated murder and murder were so similar that it was the judge's discretion to make the change during a preliminary hearing.
Kindopp also argued that an additional kidnapping charge should not have been used as an aggravating factor because the murder had to take place during the commission of the kidnapping.
The justices are expected to issue a written ruling in the coming months.
E-mail: gfattah@desnews.com