Monday, May 04, 2015

Split verdict in ATV protest case

A jury convicted a southern Utah county commissioner and a blogger and acquitted two others accused of knowingly breaking the law during an ATV protest ride last year through a canyon home to Native American cliff dwellings. The jury on Friday found San Juan County Commissioner Phil Lyman and blogger Monte Wells guilty. It acquitted Shane Marian and Franklin “Trent” Holliday. Prosecutors said Lyman and the others knew the trail was off-limits to ATVs. Defense attorneys countered that the men had permission from a local water district official. Lyman and Wells were found guilty of misdemeanor charges of illegal use of ATVs and conspiracy. Each carries a potential penalty of up to a year in jail and a fine of $100,000. Sentencing is set for July 15. Prosecutor Jared Bennett of the U.S. attorney’s office in Utah said Lyman was the ringleader for a public protest ride where participants had no doubt they were breaking the law. Lyman and the others were warned on multiple occasions by Bureau of Land Management officials that the trail was closed and that they would face consequences, Bennett said. Lyman even changed the date of the ride from a Thursday to Saturday to get more participants, Bennett said. He pointed the jury to an email Lyman sent Bureau of Land Management state director Juan Palma asking Palma to make legal an illegal ride. “Why would you have to ask BLM to make something legal if it wasn’t illegal?” Bennett said. “This wasn’t an accident. They acted knowing this was a violation of the law.” Defense attorney Nathan Crane, Wells’ lawyer, said the openness in which Lyman promoted the ride proves he believed they weren’t doing anything wrong. He pointed out that federal agents testified during trial that they knew about the ride ahead of time. “Normally, if you are conspiring to break the law, you don’t tell the feds,” Crane said. They rode the part of the trail that San Juan Water Conservancy District water master Ferd Johnson said they could take their ATVs on, Crane said. Jared Stubbs, Lyman’s attorney, told the jury to remember that Palma acknowledged under oath during trial that he told Lyman by phone there wouldn’t be any arrests for the ride. Palma clarified during his testimony that he meant no arrests would occur the day of the ride, and that his words were not an approval for the illegal ride...more

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