Justice Court employees face possible criminal charges

CEDAR CITY – Criminal charges may soon be filed against several Iron County Justice Court employees accused of deleting traffic citations for family and friends.

Parowan Police Chief Ken Carpenter said Friday he had completed the investigation into the allegations and handed the case file over to Parowan City Prosecutor Justin Wayment.

Carpenter confirmed there was more than one employee who was involved in the alleged incidents but wouldn't say how many.

"There was wrongdoing by more than one person," he said.

The Spectrum & Daily News has learned that five court employees were being investigated.

Official sources said that five had been put on administrative leave in May or April but only one has since been confirmed – she retired in November near the time the Parowan City Police Department was given the investigation.

The charges filed against the employees could be felonies or misdemeanors, Carpenter said, depending on various factors, including what the prosecution can prove.

"It could go either way," he said. "They could be either one or both. That's why we have the prosecutor look at it to determine the appropriate level of prosecution and some of what he'll look at is what is he able to prove."

Wayment said he has had the case for about three days and hasn't had time to determine what charges will be filed.

He is currently screening it for conflicts of interest, he said.

"I have a few questions for the chief that I need to ask him, and I'll be meeting with him next week," Wayment said. "Right now, we're looking at whether we have a conflict of interest in any way and then depending on what we find there, we'll decide how to proceed."

Once that's determined, the case will either be turned over to another agency for prosecution or Wayment will move on to screen the investigation for criminal charges.

Wayment said he did not know who he would turn the case over to if needed.

Parowan City was given the case to investigate and prosecute as an independent third-party because it runs its own justice court.

Several citizens have commented online with concerns that the case was being investigated and prosecuted by Parowan City, saying it was too close and should be sent to a neighboring county.

The Utah State Attorney General's Office said it has received a complaint from a citizen concerned that Parowan City did not have the resources to investigate.

The AG's office does not get involved unless the county or city requests its help or if there is an allegation by a citizen of corruption of a public official, said Missy Larsen, chief communications director for the AG's office.

Having the case investigated by an adjacent community isn't enough to create a conflict of interest, Larsen noted.

"There has to be an actual legal reason there's a conflict of interest not just because someone thinks they're too close," she said.

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