Man accused of shooting driver during Black Lives Matter protest trying to get case dismissed
Aug 10, 2022, 6:00 AM | Updated: Dec 29, 2022, 11:28 am
People attend a Black Lives Matter protest in front of the Salt Lake City Public Safety Building in Salt Lake City on Friday, April 16, 2021. Photo credit: Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — A man accused of firing into a vehicle during a Black Lives Matter protest in Provo is trying to get his case dismissed.
Jesse Taggart’s attorney Shane Johnson argued in court that police did not collect enough evidence in the case against him.
Taggart has been ordered to stand trial for attempted aggravated murder.
He’s accused of firing a gun during a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020 and injuring a man driving through the crowd.
His attorney argues that police only took 26 minutes to collect evidence after the shooting.
“Mr. Taggart is fighting for the rest of his life. That’s what’s at stake here,” Johnson said. “Those investigators spent 26 minutes processing the crime scene, that will play a heavy part in determining whether or not Mr. Taggart goes to prison for the rest of his life. ”
The state argues that they can’t speculate on what evidence could have been gathered.
Fourth District Judge James Brady said he’ll decide on whether the case will move forward or not by next month.
A status conference in the case is scheduled for Sept. 13.
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