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Show r u N v. I E R s I y MONDAY, FEB. 26, 2001 Guilty verdict in for Ropers BY THOMAS BURR SENIOR STAFF WRITER An SUU faculty member who reportedly told his wife "That'll teach you!" after spraying her in the face with carpet cleaner , was found guilty Thursday of aggravated assault An eight-member Jury to.ok two hours to deliver a verdict of guilty on the second-degree felony against Richard Henry Ropers . 53. an associate professor of sociology He was also convicted in 5th D1stncl Court 1n Parowan of interference with a communication device , a class B misdemeanor, for breaking a phone so that his wife could not ca ll emergency services after she was sprayed with the Wal-Mart brand cleaner. Ropers was acquitted of a misdemeanor charge of unlawful detention , and during the tnal Judge Philip Eves d1sm1ssed a charge of interfering with an arrest. SUU Provost Ray Reutzel and Faculty Senate President Neil Gailey sent a letter to Ropers earlier this week notifying him that cause has been shown for his termination. Ropers can now rebut the allegations and have ~ hearing before a faculty committee, if he chooses Ropers and his wife, Shan Ling "Shirley" Ropers , 44 , who is an SUU student, walked out of court together following the verdict and refused to comment on the case. The two were married in Las Vegas eight days after the incident. Richard Ropers , IJl.'.hO sat with a partial-smile throughout the day-long trial, told the judge following the verd ict, "I guess I'm out of a job now." Iron County Attorney Scott Burns admonished the five-man , three-woman jury several times to "teach" Richard Ropers by convicting him. . Shan Ropers, a freshman French majo(from Malaysia, testified Thursday that on Jan. 6 her husband was trying to clean a spill on the carpet spraying the cleaner when a "speck" of the cleaner got into her left eye as she leaned over to make sure he did not spray a nearby grand piano. "It was just an accident," she said. "It was not his fault. " Her testimony , however, was later countered by a Cedar City police officer and a victim 's advocate she spoke with at Valley View Medical Center where she was taken following the spraying incident. Burns noted after the trial that Shan Ropers' testimony did not carry much weight after several other witnesses had different statements. "I just don't believe 14 people could conspire in an attempt to harm Mr. Ropers ," he said. ·1 just think [the jurors} saw right through that." Discussion in the jury room focused on how Shan Ropers had "contradicted" herself on the witness stand , a juror, who asked to remain anonymous , said Friday. ·we felt like she was coerced into the second statement,· the juror said. "There was no consistency." The jury tried out the can of spray during deliberations and it worked like the directions said it should. the juror said. Several people with connections to SUU served on the jury, including at least one student and one employee. (continued on page 5) -i t . I • |