Two co-founders behind a mostly maskless rave in Utah County during the pandemic s peak entered pleas in abeyance Monday to disobeying public health laws.
Deseret News
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Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
The Utah organizers of a Halloween rave attended by thousands during the pandemic have taken a plea deal requiring them to apologize to everyone else in the state for violating public health orders.
Erik Scott Little, 27, and Tanner Valerio, 26, are co-founders of The Tribe Utah, the group behind the mostly maskless gathering on Oct. 31 during a time when there were about 2,000 new COVID-19 cases daily in Utah. Authorities believe the event drew up to 10,000 people to the west side of Utah Lake.
Both pleaded guilty Monday in Utah County Justice Court to disobeying public health laws, a class B misdemeanor. They agreed to pen the apology letter, pay a $500 fine and abide by laws and public health directives for the next year. If they meet each condition, a judge will dismiss the cases under the terms of their pleas in abeyance.
PROVO Defense attorneys seeking to take the death penalty off the table for their client accused of killing a young couple in 2018 are alleging misconduct on the part of Utah County prosecutors, who deny any wrongdoing.
The lawyers for Jerrod William Baum, 44, say a prior plea deal for a star witness has created an incentive for the state to rely on an agreed-upon story, rather than the truth.
Baum s defense team also alleges prosecutors know about evidence that could be favorable to their client but haven t collected it, among other examples they say amount to misconduct. The incentives in this case do not lie on the side of justice, they wrote in court filings.
PROVO Defense attorneys seeking to take the death penalty off the table for their client accused of killing a young couple in 2018 are alleging misconduct on the part of Utah County prosecutors, who deny any wrongdoing.
The lawyers for Jerrod William Baum, 44, say a prior plea deal for a star witness has created an incentive for the state to rely on an agreed-upon story, rather than the truth.
Baum s defense team also alleges prosecutors know about evidence that could be favorable to their client but haven t collected it, among other examples they say amount to misconduct. The incentives in this case do not lie on the side of justice, they wrote in court filings.