Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller Announces Intent To Seek Re-Election, Joins Greg Skordas And Sim Gill In Race

Controversial Salt Lake County District Attorney Lohra Miller formally announced her intent to seek re-election to another four-year term on March 5th, 2010. She will join two other candidates, Greg Skordas and former DA Sim Gill, in the race. Media stories published by KSL Channel 5; since this post was published, the Salt Lake Tribune has now run a story. KSL news video embedded below:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

According to her official campaign website, Miller first ran in 2006 because she thought district attorney policies were insufficiently responsive to the needs of crime victims. She claims to have worked with prosecutors, courts, community leaders, and law enforcement to drastically improve the prosecution of domestic violence, DUI, automobile homicide, murder, elder abuse, and juvenile crimes. But Miller thinks there's more to be done, and she wants to accomplish a more comprehensive revision of the entire criminal justice process in Salt Lake County.

One word Lohra Miller uses to describe herself is "outspoken". Not only is that an understatement, but her matriarchal style has alienated much of the community. Too frequently she shoots from the hip and fails to adequately consider the political ramifications of her actions. In March 2008, after accusing prosecutor Kent Morgan of leaking information to one of his friends under investigation, Lohra Miller fired Morgan. This was in association with the famous "Doll House" case. Morgan contested the firing, and in September 2009, a civil service panel ordered Miller to make Morgan a felony prosecutor again. In March 2008, a four-page Salt Lake City Weekly article entitled "Illegally Blonde: City Weekly March 2008 Feature On Lohra Miller" chronicled allegations of underage drinking parties at Miller's South Jordan cul-de-sac home and reported problems associated with them.

The D.J. Bell case became another lightning rod, as Lohra Miller chose to prosecute Bell for child kidnapping after as many as five people invaded his home and nearly beat Bell and his housemate, Dan Fair, to death on July 4th, 2008. Bell was acquitted by a jury in near-record time. However, this has since been mitigated by Miller's recent decision to proceed with the prosecution of those whose assaulted Bell and Fair; this decision, delayed as it was, may permit Miller to repair her tattered credibility somewhat. Thus Miller has picked up endorsements from Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Ed Smart, the father of former kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart.

Justice Delayed But Not Denied: Seven Tongans Charged In Home Invasion And Mob Assault On D.J. Bell And Dan Fair In South Salt Lake

Update March 26th: Additional information and a link to a newer Tribune article posted in green.

After a year and a half, justice is finally being served. KSL Channel 5 reports that seven people are being charged in the home invasion and mob assault on D.J. Bell and his housemate, Dan Fair. The Salt Lake City Weekly also filed a story.

The people charged are Lisa Rita Aione, Marsha Rae Finau, Angelina Janae Dibella, Tapululululu Latu, Ricky Ian Peace, Ietitaia Tavita Nuusila, and Ieti David Mageo, all of Tongan origin. Collectively, they face a total of 16 charges ranging from first-degree felony aggravated burglary to a class A misdemeanor of giving false personal information to a peace officer. From the Deseret News comes an individual breakdown (read the six-page charging document HERE):

— Tapululululu Latu, 30, charged with riot, a third-degree felony. It is believed she deliberately waited until after her five "homies" staged the home invasion before calling 911.

— Lisa Rita Aiono, 26, charged with riot, a third-degree felony.

— Marsha Rae Finau, 30, charged with riot, a third-degree felony.

— Angelina Janae Dibella, 31, charged with riot, a third-degree felony and assault, a class A misdemeanor.

— Ricky Ian Peace, 33, charged with aggravated burglary and aggravated assault, first-degree felonies, and riot, a third-degree felony.

— Ieti David Mageo, 32, charged with aggravated burglary and aggravated assault, first-degree felonies, and riot, a third-degree felony. Mageo also has a criminal history of previous home invasions.

— Ietitaia Tavita Nuusila, 26, charged with aggravated burglary and aggravated assault, first-degree felonies; riot, a third-degree felony; assault, a class A misdemeanor; and giving false personal information to a peace officer, a class A misdemeanor.

Dibella, Finau, Latu, Mageo, and Nuusila have been arraigned in 3rd District Court and have April 20th scheduling hearings. Lisa Rita Aiono, 26, and Ricky Ian Peace, 33, were arrested March 25th in Las Vegas, and will be extradited back to Utah.

Although D.J. Bell and Dan Fair were not available for comment Tuesday afternoon, Susanne Gustin, one of the attorneys who represented Bell during his trial, said both men are pleased by this turn of events.

This stems from a confrontation between Bell/Fair and the perpetrators at their South Salt Lake home on July 4th, 2008. Two children from the Tongan clan came over to get away from the noise of the drunken adult Tongan revelers. Bell gave them each a glass of Kool-Aid, but did not let them in the house. Tapalululu Latu came over, saw the kids and chimped out, fearing a "kidnapping"; she took the kids away and promised retribution. Moments later, five others burst through Fair's doors and windows, trashing the home and beating Bell and Fair to within an inch of their lives. But Bell was regarded by prosecutors as the "bad guy"; he was put on trial in September 2009 on two counts of child kidnapping, both first-degree felonies, and one count of burglary, a second-degree felony. A jury acquitted Bell of all counts after a four-day trial and after less than three hours of deliberations.

Bell and Fair also tell their story on the Injustice801 website, and this case has been previously documented on this blog in this series of posts, in reverse chronological order.

A March 26th Salt Lake Tribune article provides more specific details about who perpetrated the assaults. Dan Fair told police Mageo, Peace and Nuusila came into the house and punched him and hit him with a chair, a frying pan and a television. Peace also allegedly threw a salt shaker at his head. Fair ended up with deep cuts to the head that required staples, a fractured eye socket, a fractured hand, a broken nose and a concussion. D.J. Bell said the other four assailants pulled him from the house by his hair and body-slammed him to the ground. He said a woman cut his neck and chest with a piece of glass. Another woman allegedly kicked him in the forehead.

The September 2009 trial stirred strong emotions among the gay community and among Pacific Islanders, since Bell and Fair are both white gay men and the neighbors are Tongans. Bell's supporters insisted that he — as a gay man — was a convenient scapegoat for a bunch of drunken neighbors who neglected their children during their wild partying. However, several of the Tongans played the race card after Bell's acquittal, claiming that the trial's outcome would have been different if the two missing children had been white. No hate crime charges are being contemplated at this time.