This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Myton police chief Thomas Wade Butterfield, accused of stalking three women, made his initial appearance in court on Monday.
Butterfield, 44, is charged in Duchesne County's 8th District Court with three counts of stalking, one count of criminal trespass and one count of unlawful detention — all misdemeanors.
A preliminary hearing was set for Dec. 8, according to the county attorney's office.
At that hearing, prosecutors will present evidence and a judge will decide whether there is probable cause for the police chief to stand trial on the charges.
Court records provide little information about the alleged crimes, which occurred between June and September of this year. Three women are listed as the alleged victims, according to court records.
Butterfield became the first police chief of Myton's newly formed police department this year. The only other police employee is an on-call officer hired as a substitute for Butterfield, according to Myton Mayor Kathleen Cooper.
"We scraped together every cent we could to get a department together," Cooper said last month, calling the allegations against Butterfield "mind-numbing."
jmiller@sltrib.comTwitter: @jm_miller