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Show Cyan Magenta Yellow Black A4 Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Protesters gather but turkey slaughter trial is postponed By John Hales Staff writer MANTI—The initial court appearances of four individuals accused in the clubbing deaths of 1,200 turkeys were anticlimactic given the notoriety the case has received. Martin Smith, Travis Argyle, Cody Long and Colton Belliston, all of Utah County, stood before Sixth District Court Judge David L. Mower Wednesday in a standing-room-only courtroom in Manti to answer charges stemming from the slayings, which occurred in February of last year. However, the judge postponed hearing the cases until Feb. 23 because Smith said he had not been able to retain an attorney for his defense, and because Sanpete County attorney Ross Blackham requested to keep the cases together rather than present them at different times. Each of the men is charged with second-degree criminal mischief as well as criminal trespass, a Class C misdemeanor. As the four suspects faced the judge inside the county courthouse, a demonstration took place outside on its steps. Sean Diener, executive director of the Utah Animal Rights Coalition (UARC) and organizer of the rally, said, “We’ve been bombarded by calls within and outside the state, even from as far away as Florida. People are outraged about this.” Diener also emphasized the opinion that animal abuse is wrong in and of itself, and said he and others are concerned that the perpetrators in the turkey killings will get off easy. “The officials aren’t taking it as seriously as it should be taken,” he said. The reason for their concern is twofold, he said. First, Sanpete County Sheriff’s Deputy Kenny Kirkham made a comment to the effect that the suspects were probably just a good group of kids who did something stupid. Diener disagrees, calling the incident “aggravated brutality” and “sadistic behavior.” Second, Blackham has not filed animal cruelty charges against any of the suspects. The absence of animal cruelty charges has drawn some criticism, but Blackham defends the actions of his office, saying that animal cruelty charges are only misdemeanors under state statute, while the charges he filed include seconddegree felonies. “When there’s already a second-degree felony charge, there isn’t much point in filing a misdemeanor in addition to that,” Blackham said. “It wouldn’t influence the case at all.” Diener says the state statute classifying animal cruelty charges as misdemeanors is faulty and should be changed. State legislator Rep. Scott Wyatt (R-Logan) apparently agrees. Wyatt is sponsoring legislation that would make animal torture a felony and would increase penalties for animal cruelty offenses by one degree when committed in the presence of a minor. Wyatt says the turkey-killing incident was one of the main issues that prompted his legislation. Wyatt’s bill, even if passed and signed into law this legislative session, will not influence the punishment of the turkey slayers. That notwithstanding, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the nation’s foremost ani- JOHN HALES / MESSENGER PHOTO Picketers gather at Sanpete Courthouse in Manti to protest turkey slaughter in particular, and animal cruelty in general. mal rights organization, is pushing Blackham to levy stiff sentencing recommendations should the suspects be convicted. Last week, PETA sent Blackham a letter requesting incarceration, psychological evaluation and mandatory counseling upon conviction of the culprits, as well as barring them from life from having contact with animals. Diener agreed with those suggestions, saying, “This should be an example of how animal abuse should not be tolerated.” Blackham said, however, “These organizations have an agenda that is different than mine. They have a message and they want to use me to get it across. But I have the job of sending the message that destroying property of any kind— whether it’s turkeys or anything else—is wrong.” TO Wednesday, February 16, 2005 THE EDITOR... Delinquents need lesson in respect I read with interest the letter from S. Wilkinson last week where he stated, “how can these boys possibly receive a fair judgment in Sanpete?” These “poor, innocent” teenagers and adults had nothing better to do with their time than to enter a building and beat to death 1,200 turkeys. The kids were bored, probably given no responsibility, taught no respect for themselves nor anyone else. Besides their vehicle was stuck so what else could they do? They went into a building with clubs and no good thoughts between their ears and had fun at the expense of Sunderland’s. Poor boys! We had a similar experience 35 years ago. Some bored kids from Northern Utah decided to have some fun and shot three of our cows. Over the years, we have had many sheep killed the same way. Bored people (if you can call them people) use whatever animal comes into their sights for target practice. Change his life forever! Learn more: utahpets.org 866-UTAH-PETS Foster Homes Needed! take the attitude, “do anything you want in Sanpete,” then look the other way and tell them, “next time don’t get caught.” With the criminal justice system we have, killers of people spend years on death row, doing nothing but eat and sleep at our expense, but it’s a definite that these boys will spend no time. My dad always said that a padlock would keep the honest ones out, but those who want to get in will find a way. The sad thing about this whole deal is that the Sunderland’s are the losers. Maybe all of us who have suffered loss at the hands of all the perpetrators should tell the police, judges, etc, “Please forgive them, they didn’t know what they were doing.” But when something like this happens to you, it puts it in a whole different light. I wonder how S. Wiikinson would feel if something similar happened to something of his. Kristy Jensen Fairview Does Social Security need fixing? What Social Security needs is for the government to replace—with accumulated interest—the money that was taken from the funds over the years. The government took that money that was legally in the fund for other things. If we did that it would be labeled “stealing.” Then what about the so- called “foreign aid.” Do you think that money goes to help the downtrodden or is it supporting this “one world government” scheme? Why don’t we get an accounting of where it goes and what it is used for? After all, it is our money. Could that money have been better used to beef-up social security? What about the billions we have pumped into the U.N.? Have we no need at home? Also, what is that money used for? Somebody should be accountable. Just some thoughts to ponder. Ed Painter Spring City Moroni Feed embezzler sentenced to service, fine and restitution By John Hales Staff writer Foster a homeless pet for a while... We never knew who killed our animals, but we do know the sick feeing when you find your animals dead. S. Wilkinson says that putting these boys in jail would only make us pay to keep them, and probably teach them nothing but bitterness. I hope no one sheds lots of tears on these young men’s behalf. They—and many others—need a lesson in respect for people’s property to realize that someone is the owner and has a huge financial investment as well as emotional attachment to their land and livestock. But because these kids had nothing else to do but cause problems, we should all look the other way. Is S. Wilkinson a grandparent to one or more of these young creatures? When windshields are broken in the city by juvenile delinquents, it seems that the police turn over every rock. Because it happened in Sanpete “let it go.” They really don’t need to worry about them spending any time locked up. People could easily MANTI—A Moroni woman has been ordered to give 100 hours of community service in lieu of jail time and to pay a $1,025 fine as well as restitution for embezzling at least $22,000 from Moroni Feed Co. Sixth District Court Judge David L. Mower handed down the sentence on Wednesday, Feb. 9 to Jessica Nelson, a former Moroni Feed Co. employee who pleaded guilty in December to two counts of theft and three counts of forgery for depositing company funds into her personal bank account. The charges are all third-degree felonies, each with a penalty of 0-5 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000. In a pre-sentence investigation report, Utah Division of Adult Parole and Probation (AP&P) officers recommended that Nelson serve a 30-day jail term or give 50 hours of community service. Sanpete County deputy attorney Brody Keisel, who prosecuted the case, adjusted that recommendation and asked the court to order 15 days jail and 50 hours of community service. “I believe justice would be served by a combination of jail time and community service,” he said. Mower, however, decided to forego jail time altogether after Nelson told the court that she and her husband are now required to work three jobs be- tween them to cover the cost of restitution in the case, and that she has to travel from Moroni to Nephi for work each day while also trying to care for two young children. Mower also agreed to release the funds in a bank account of Nelson’s that had been frozen during the course of the case’s investigation. Keisel requested a court order to unfreeze the account, saying that the $5,200 contained therein would make a good start toward paying restitution. Keisel also said the ordered restitution constitutes the entire amount investigators discovered that Nelson took from the company. Mower ordered Nelson to be on probation with AP&P for 36 months. The probationary period will not end until the entire amount of restitution has been paid. Utah Artist Juried Show Friday, Feb. 18, 6-9 p.m. Juried show reception— Baroque Consort with Libor Ondras of Snow College will perform. Awards event Saturday, Feb. 19, 6-9 p.m. Juried show reception— Juried show reception 6-9 p.m. Both evnts are free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The exhibition will run from Feb. 18-March 23. CUAC hours: Tues-Fri. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sat. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 86 N. 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