Suspect accused of killing Utah officer appears virtually in court

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — The man accused of killing a Santaquin police officer after hitting him with a semi-truck on May 5 appeared virtually in court on Wednesday.

Michael Aaron Jayne, 42, attended the May 15 hearing virtually from the Utah County Jail in Spanish Fork. He could be seen wearing a neck brace and an oxygen tube, and he was sitting during the hearing.

When Judge Robert Lund asked Jayne to raise his right hand to be sworn, Jayne told the judge that he was unable to do so.

Jayne was told he had the right to a lawyer, and the judge asked what Jayne was intending to do about his representation.

“I have no access to any funds,” Jayne said in Wednesday’s hearing. “I don’t have any access to any money, and I don’t have any ability to pay for [a] lawyer.”

At the hearing, Judge Robert Lund explained the charges Jayne was facing — which include nine separate counts. The charges against Jayne are as follows:

• One count of aggravated murder, a first-degree felony
• Two counts of attempted aggravated murder, each first-degree felonies
• One count of aggravated kidnapping, which is a first-degree felony
• One count of burglary, which is a second-degree felony
• Three counts of theft, which are each second-degree felonies
• One count of failure to respond to officers signal to stop, which is a third-degree felony

During the hearing, the judge also signed a protective order to keep Jayne away from a woman whose name is not being released by ABC4.com at this time. The judge informed Jayne that a violation of that order could mean another criminal charge.

Jayne is scheduled to appear in court again on May 21.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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