SALT LAKE CITY — There may be another stall in moving the case of Curtis Allgier forward as his attorneys filed a motion Monday to postpone the jury trial currently scheduled to begin in April.
Attorneys for the 31-year-old man accused of killing a corrections officer first filed a motion to stay the trial pending a review by the Utah Supreme Court on the grounds that Allgier's attorneys had a conflict of interest. Third District Judge Paul Maughan promptly denied the motion, reiterating his view that there was no "substantial" basis for the claim and such a request should be based "on evidence, not innuendo."
They then entered a motion to continue the trial, which is currently slated to begin April 25 and run through June 2, for a variety of reasons. For one, they stand by the argument they made when the trial was scheduled that there was not adequate time to prepare for the trial. They also contend that they have filed 45 motions, which are still pending before the court.
In the motion, they also state their claim that Department of Corrections officials at the jail continue to hamper their efforts to gather evidence and mitigation information, including keeping them from copies of tapes of Allgier in jail for which they paid $3,750.
Their efforts were further delayed, they said, when they stopped working on the case for as many as seven weeks because "believing they had a conflict, discontinued work ..." They concluded by citing ongoing conflicts of interest and their pending review before the Utah Supreme Court.
The state is expected to respond to the request in coming weeks. A hearing on the matter has been scheduled for March 21.
Allgier, who is known for the tattoos that cover nearly his entire body, has been in jail since June 2007. He is facing myriad charges including aggravated murder, aggravated escape, aggravated robbery and three counts of aggravated attempted murder — all first-degree felonies — in connection with corrections officer Stephen Anderson's death.
Prosecutors say Allgier shot Anderson in the head and chest during an escape attempt and then fled University Hospital on foot. Allgier is accused of using the weapon to steal a vehicle and then leading police on a high-speed chase on I-80, I-15 and I-215 at speeds exceeding 100 mph. When the vehicle's tires were spiked, Allgier continued to flee on foot, eventually running into an Arby's restaurant near 1700 South and Redwood Road.
There, police say Allgier pointed a gun at the head of an Arby's employee before a patron was able to wrest the gun from him.
If convicted, Allgier could receive the death penalty.
— Emiley Morgan Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam