Opinion ID: 2367244
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: mr. howe's criminal citation and prosecution

Text: ¶ 9 Over the next few weeks, Mr. Howe attempted to contact Ms. Werner to discuss the police response to the high school. Ms. Werner did not return Mr. Howe's calls and felt listening to more rhetoric was unnecessary. It wasn't until July 14, 2003, when Sgt. James Bryant met with Ms. Werner, that police began considering criminal charges against Mr. Howe. In considering charges, Sgt. Bryant focused on the information Mr. Howe provided to police dispatch. The false information provided was that an employee or agent of Peak Alarm was on the scene, and that the employee or agent either had contact with or knowledge of unauthorized persons on the premises. In his review, Sgt. Bryant also noted Mr. Howe's whatever it takes statement to Officer Wihongi. ¶ 10 Sgt. Bryant decided a false alarm charge was appropriate because Sgt. Bryant judged Mr. Howe knew [the statements] to be false, and that his intent in doing that was to elicit a response from the Police Department. On July 21, 2003, Sgt. Bryant and another officer went to Peak Alarm's offices. After summoning Mr. Howe to the lobby area, Sgt. Bryant told Mr. Howe he was going to be arrested for making a false alarm. Rather than handcuffing Mr. Howe and taking him into police custody, Sgt. Bryant gave Mr. Howe the opportunity to avoid an arrest by signing and fingerprinting a citation for the misdemeanor of making a false alarm. The fingerprinting process was not equivalent to that used at a formal booking; Sgt. Bryant required a single thumbprint affixed to the citation. Police department policy requires that every misdemeanor citation include a fingerprint from the cited individual. ¶ 11 A jury trial on the criminal charge began on April 12, 2004. Following the Salt Lake City prosecutor's case in chief, the justice court granted Mr. Howe's motion for a directed verdict. The justice court dismissed the charge because prosecutors presented no evidence Mr. Howe knowingly or intentionally made ... a false alarm.