Steve Alan Archuleta, 62, had his case set for a jury trial during his 1st District Court appearance on Wednesday.
Archuleta faces seven first-degree felonies: two counts of sodomy on a child, two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, two counts of object rape of a child, and one count of attempted sodomy on a child. A four-day jury trial was set to begin on Sept. 6.
Documents filed with the court allege Archuleta sexually abused two alleged victims when they were under the age of 10. It’s alleged the incidents began as early as 1991 and continued for several years.
Archuleta is currently being held in the Cache County Jail on a no bail status.
Lorenzo Tena-Vasquez, 60, appeared in court on Wednesday for a murder case alleged to have occurred in August.
During the appearance, defense attorney Bryan Sidwell notified the court of his intent to have a justification hearing where he would argue that his client acted in self-defense.
Tena-Vasquez was set to appear in court again on Feb. 23. Judge Brian Cannell indicated justification hearing would take three days and would likely take place in May or June.
Documents alleged Tena-Vasquez shot and killed a co-worker at construction site in Millville. Tena-Vasquez told deputies he had a prior confrontation with the 29-year-old earlier in the day. Tena-Vasquez indicated he had been threatened, according to deputies, and he felt it was best to shoot the alleged victim.
Tena-Vasquez is currently being held in the Cache County Jail on a no bail status.
Beau Nopens, 37, received a prison sentence on Wednesday though he will likely serve his time in Colorado.
Nopens was charged in the 1st District Court with a pair of vehicle theft cases occurring in 2019 – he pleaded guilty to felony charges in 2021.
During the time set for sentencing on Wednesday, defense attorney Ryan Holdaway told the court Nopens had a pending Colorado case that was likely to result in incarceration. To ensure his client served prison time, but no more than necessary, Holdaway asked the court give Nopens credit for time served and order him to complete his sentence in Colorado.
Judge Brian Cannell agreed to suspend Nopens’ prison sentence in Utah, but required a stint in prison. If for some reason Nopens avoided prison in Colorado, Cannell said, he must serve time in Utah.
The two victims in the cases declined to address the court and Nopens was ordered to pay over $6,000 in restitution.
Dayton Jorge Chavez, 22, now faces an additional felony after Cache County prosecutors amended the charges against him on Tuesday.
Chavez now faces two third-degree felonies: dealing in materials harmful to a minor and enticing a minor.
Documents filed with the court allege Chavez sent explicit images of himself to a 16-year-old female and requested images from three minors. He pleaded guilty in 2018 to two third-degree counts of dealing in materials harmful to a minor for a similar incident.
On Jan. 10, Judge Spencer Walsh recused himself from the current case as he was the prosecutor in the 2018 case. Chavez will appear before Judge Brian Cannell going forward.
Chavez, who is currently being held in the Cache County Jail, is set to appear in court again on Feb. 9.
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