STATE OF UTAH v. ALAVINA FUNGAIHEA FLORREICH

From 1998 to 2009, Alavina Florreich was the nanny for
Alex and his siblings. Florreich is a Tongan immigrant, and Alex
and his siblings were the homeschooled children of a Jewish
rabbi.
¶3 When Alex was eight years old, Florreich was watching a
movie with Alex and his younger siblings one day when Alex
began giving her a shoulder massage. While doing so, Alex
s... More...    $0 (01-24-2024 - UT)

Salt Lake City, Utah criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with aggravated sexual abuse of a child.


¶2 In October 2014, Victim's mother (Mother) met Garcia on an online dating website. Mother's profile on the website indicated that she had children. A few days after making contact, the two arranged to meet in person. At their first meeting, Garcia told Mother that he... More...    $0 (06-24-2022 - UT)

Provo, Utah criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charge with wo counts of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, the jury also found Baum guilty of six other charges: two counts of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony; two counts of abuse or desecration of a dead human body, a third-degree felony; and obstructing justice, a second-degree felony.

Jerrod Baum, age 45, wa... More...    $0 (04-15-2022 - UT)

The State tried Mr. Martin on four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, a first-degree felony, for sexually abusing his sisters-in-law A.L. and N.L. while occupying “a position of special trust in relation to” them. UTAH CODE § 76-5-404.1(4)(h). ¶ 7 At trial, A.L. testified that Mr. Martin had touched her vagina on four different occasions while he was supervising her; N.L. testified tha... More...    $0 (11-26-2017 - UT)

In November 2009, Benjamin Rettig and Martin Bond traveled from Vernal, Utah, to the home of Kay Mortensen in Spanish Fork, Utah.1 Mortensen owned a large supply of firearms that were located in a “bunker” behind his home. Bond and Rettig traveled to his home with the intent to steal some of his firearms. The two entered Mortensen’s home with a handgun while wearing ski masks and latex gloves. The... More...    $0 (11-26-2017 - UT)

¶1 Chadley Keith Calvert appeals his convictions for aggravated assault, a third degree felony, and for threatening with or using a dangerous weapon in a fight or quarrel, a class A misdemeanor. Calvert contends that his trial counsel provided constitutionally ineffective assistance in failing to raise arguments related to double jeopardy and that the trial court exceeded its discretion in admitti... More...    $0 (11-20-2017 - UT)

A jury convicted Martin Bond of several heinous crimes, including aggravated kidnapping and aggravated murder. Mr. Bond challenges his convictions on three grounds. First, he argues the prosecutor committed misconduct by calling Benjamin Rettig, Mr. Bond’s codefendant, to testify when Mr. Rettig had indicated an intention to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and,... More...    $0 (10-14-2015 - UT)

Salt Lake City, UT - The State of Utah charged John Martin Carrell, age 62, with 33 counts of first-degree felony aggravated sexual abuse of child for molesting two minor girls. Carrell drove a school bus for the Canyon School District. The State alleged that Defendant sexually abused the two special needs students at Altara Elementary School. They were five years old when the offenses allegedly ... More...    $0 (07-25-2015 - UT)

¶1 Theodore James Samul appeals from an amended sentence
and from the dismissal of his motion to withdraw his 2003 guilty
pleas. We affirm in part and reverse in part and remand.
1. The Honorable Russell W. Bench, Senior Judge, sat by special
assignment as authorized by law. See generally Utah R. Jud. Admin.
11-201(6).
State v. Samul
BACKGROUND
¶2 Samul was charge... More...    $0 (01-29-2015 - UT)

¶1 Jeffery Russell Finlayson appeals the district court’s order
dismissing his petition for post-conviction relief for failure to
prosecute. We affirm.
1. This Amended Opinion replaces the Opinion issued October 23,
2014.
2. On August 21, 2014, Landon A. Allred withdrew as counsel, at
Finlayson’s request.
3. The Honorable Russell W. Bench, Senior Judge, sat by spec... More...    $0 (10-23-2014 - UT)

¶1 Jeffery Finlayson appeals from his convictions for
aggravated kidnapping, a first degree felony, Utah Code Ann. § 76-
1. The Honorable Pamela T. Greenwood, Senior Judge, sat by
special assignment as authorized by law. See generally Utah R. Jud.
Admin. 11-201(6).
State v. Finlayson
5-302 (LexisNexis Supp. 2013),2 and aggravated assault, a third
degree felony, id. §... More...    $0 (11-28-2014 - UT)

¶1 On certiorari, petitioner Andrew LeBeau asks us to
consider whether the court of appeals erred in affirming the district
court’s imposition of a sentence of life without the possibility of
parole following Mr. LeBeau’s conviction for aggravated kidnapping
pursuant to Utah Code section 76-5-302. Mr. LeBeau’s conviction
stems from a domestic dispute triggered by Mr. LeB... More...    $0 (09-19-2014 - UT)

¶1 Nearly twenty-six years ago, a jury convicted Ralph Leroy Menzies of the first degree murder of Maurine Hunsaker. At sentencing, Judge Raymond Uno imposed the death penalty. Since then, we have issued three opinions in Mr. Menzies‘s case:
MENZIES v. STATE
Opinion of the Court
2
two from direct appeals1 and one from a post-conviction appeal.2 In Mr. Menzies‘s first post-conv... More...    $0 (09-23-2010 - UT)

¶1 Milan Otkovic challenges his convictions and sentences for
aggravated kidnapping, a first degree felony, Utah Code Ann. § 76-
5-302(1), (3) (LexisNexis Supp. 2013),1 and aggravated robbery, a
first degree felony, id. § 76-6-302(1)–(2) (2012). We reverse and
remand for a new trial.
State v. Otkovic
2. “On appeal, we recite the facts from the record in the light mos... More...    $0 (03-13-2014 - UT)

¶1 Defendant Jason Kyle Clark appeals his first degree felony
convictions for various counts of aggravated murder, attempted
aggravated murder, aggravated burglary, aggravated kidnapping,
and aggravated robbery, and his class B misdemeanor conviction
for aggravated cruelty to animals. We affirm on all counts.
State v. Clark
20110206-CA 2 2014 UT App 56
BACKGROUND
Â... More...    $0 (03-13-2014 - UT)

¶1 This case arises from a fight at the Utah State Prison.
Uncontroverted evidence at trial established that Defendant
Nathan Redcap, an inmate, stabbed an inmate named Wilson.
Redcap had surreptitiously remained out of his cell after he should
have returned to it. He shielded his torso with body armor
improvised from magazines and attached a shank to each hand.1
Redcap wa... More...    $0 (01-16-2014 - UT)

¶1 Joseph Logan Lee appeals from his conviction for murder,
a first degree felony, and for unlawful possession of a firearm and
for failure to stop at the command of a police officer, both third
degree felonies. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
¶2 Lee met with the victim, T.H., on June 1, 2006, to settle a
drug debt owed to T.H. by a friend of Lee’s.1 At some point during
Stat... More...    $0 (01-09-2014 - UT)

¶1 Cody Nielsen was convicted of the aggravated murder of Trisha Autry and sentenced to life without parole. On this appeal, Nielsen raises a series of challenges to the venue for his trial—a Cache County trial with a jury comprised of Box Elder County residents. He also questions the sufficiency of the evidence to sus-tain lesser offenses of kidnapping and aggravated kidnapping and the suffici... More...    $0 (04-29-2014 - UT)

The State of Utah charged Esar Met with kidnapping and aggravated murder of 7-year-old Nser Ner Moo, who lived near the Defendant, on March 31, 2008. The victim was sexually assaulted and beaten to death. ... More...    $0 (01-17-2014 - UT)

After Philbert Rentz fired a single gunshot that wounded one victim and killed another, he was charged with two separate counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Mr. Rentz moved to dismiss the second § 924(c) count. The district court granted his motion, holding that § 924(c) cannot support multiple § 924(c) charges arising from a single use of a... More...    $0 (11-18-2013 - UT)

The State of Utah charged Dr. Martin MacNeill with first-degree murder and obstruction of justice in conjunction with the bathtub drowning death of his wife. The State alleged that Defendant gave his wife Michelle drugs and then placed her in a bathtub where she drown, possibly with some help from her husband. Defendant, a doctor and lawwyer, had eight children and was a former bishop of his loca... More...    $0 (11-09-2013 - UT)

¶1 Roland McNeil appeals his conviction for aggravated assault. McNeil contends that the trial court committed reversible error by improperly admitting three pieces of evidence: paraphrased portions of telephone records, a statement made by the victim’s daughter, and testimony regarding an unavailable witness’s prior inconsistent statements. We affirm. State v. McNeil

BACKGROUND1
More...    $0 (05-23-2013 - UT)

These two direct criminal appeals arise from the same incident and have one sentencing issue in common. Accordingly, we address them together. The crime in which the two Defendants-Appellants participated included a brutal beating and sexual assault that came at the end of a bout of heavy drinking. Mr. Joe and Ms. Jones each eventually entered a guilty plea to a single charge of aggravated sexual ... More...    $0 (10-17-2012 - UT)

On May 20, 1999, Co... More...    $0 (09-06-2002 - UT)