SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Court of Appeals has upheld the murder conviction of a Washington County man who shot and killed his neighbor.
The ruling issued last Thursday determined the questions asked by both prosecutors and the defense attorney to Bradly Scott Hunt during his trial did not meet the standards for reversing his conviction.
Hunt, 36, of Washington, Washington County, was convicted of murder, a first-degree felony, and possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony, following a trial in September 2022 with 5th District Judge Keith Barnes.
Hunt argued his attorney was ineffective because he asked Hunt about his prior convictions during trial testimony. He also argued that prosecutors asking him about his intent to kill his neighbor was misconduct and claimed he deserved a mistrial.
The Utah Court of Appeals justices said they “disagree on all fronts.”
Their ruling explained Hunt and his neighbor Christopher Montgomery, 38, would spend time together and fix cars at Hunt’s home. Hunt, however, asked Montgomery to stay away after he learned the man’s wife had obtained a protective order against her husband, and Montgomery could observe his wife from Hunt’s property.
After that request, Hunt returned home on May 8, 2020, and saw Montgomery trying to enter his backyard. Hunt warned Montgomery that if he had his gun he would kill him, and proceeded to hit Montgomery and knock him unconscious, the ruling said.
“After (Montgomery) fell to the ground, Hunt struck him a few more times and then dragged him by the legs down the driveway and into the middle of the road, where he broke a glass bottle next to (the) neighbor’s head,” the opinion said.
Despite the protective order, Montgomery’s wife came out to help her husband.
Later that night, Hunt was home with his father and two friends. He was worried Montgomery would return with a gun, so he padlocked his gate and turned the lights off, court documents say.
According to Hunt’s testimony, he saw a silhouette outside his front windows, thought someone was at his front windows and was “terrified” his neighbor was trying to break in.
Hunt grabbed a shotgun his father had brought, ran outside and fired. Montgomery died at the hospital.
Hunt admitted to shooting Montgomery to police in interviews, the opinion states. But he claimed he acted in self-defense. Hunt verified during cross-examination that Montgomery was not killed accidentally.
The appeals court said before his trial that Hunt’s attorney had agreed to his status as a convicted felon and acknowledged prosecutors could bring previous convictions up during cross-examination. The opinion also said two other witnesses had verified he was a convicted felon — his father and an officer. Because of this, the justices said Hunt’s attorney was not ineffective because he brought up Hunt’s prior convictions.
Thursday’s opinion states prosecutors asked multiple times whether Hunt “intended” to shoot his neighbor and his attorney said during the trial he was inclined to move for a mistrial based on those questions. Instead, attorneys agreed on jury instructions to address the difference between the legal definition of intent and the common meaning of the word.
The appellate judges determined Hunt’s claim that he acted in self-defense meant he agreed he had intended to kill Montgomery, so questions about his intent did not merit granting a mistrial, either.
Hunt was sentenced on Oct. 27, 2022, to a term of 15 years to life in prison for murder, and a term of zero to five years for possession of a firearm. Those sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
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