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Appeals court upholds conviction in deputy’s death

Posted at 11:41 AM, Aug 16, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-16 13:56:52-04

SALT LAKE CITY — A federal appeals court has upheld the conviction of a man in connection with the death of a Millard County Sheriff’s deputy.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Roberto Roman’s appeal in the 2010 death of Deputy Josie Greathouse-Fox during a traffic stop outside Delta. Roman’s attorneys argued a federal court that convicted him should have considered the fact he was acquitted of the deputy’s murder in state court.

“Contrary to Roman’s assertions, the district court neither violated his Sixth Amendment right to present a defense nor abused its discretion by excluding
evidence of Roman’s prior state-court acquittal; that evidence wasn’t material, and any probative value it might have had was substantially outweighed by the risk that it would unfairly prejudice the government, confuse the issues, and mislead the jury. Moreover, there was sufficient evidence for a rational jury to find Roman guilty of carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime,” the judges said in a unanimous ruling.

Roman was acquitted in state court on a murder charge, but federal prosecutors leveled their own charges. Claims of double-jeopardy were rejected by the courts and Roman was convicted.

Read the 10th Circuit Court ruling here (refresh the page if it doesn’t load immediately):