Salt Lake City led Utah in stalking charges and convictions in 2012

More than a quarter of all stalking charges filed in state courts in 2012 were filed in Salt Lake City's 3rd District Court.

Out of the 331 charges listed in 2012 data from the Utah State Courts, 91 — 27.5 percent — were filed in Salt Lake City. The court also had the highest number of convictions, with guilty or no-contest pleas on 16 charges, for a 17.6 percent conviction rate.

Statewide, there were 77 convictions on stalking charges, or a 23.3 percent conviction rate.

The data is for charges and is not the number of people charged with stalking, as defendants commonly faced multiple counts. The conviction data does not include cases that were dismissed or where charges were reduced in plea agreements.

Bountiful's 2nd District Court and Manti's 6th District Court both had the lowest number of stalking charges filed in 2012, with one each. They, along with the district courts in Duchesne, Layton, Heber City, Brigham City and Cedar City, had no convictions.

The district courts in Moab and Price had one conviction each for the year, out of three charges filed in Moab and two in Price. The court with the highest rate of convictions was the 7th District Court in Castle Dale, at 100 percent — two convictions.

Stalking is defined in Utah law as following, observing or contacting a person with the intent to instill fear in them. It is considered a class A misdemeanor on the first offense, and a third-degree felony on the second offense, and a second-degree felony on a third offense or if a weapon is used.

The data were compiled by UtahsRight.com for a weekly series in The Salt Lake Tribune highlighting information gleaned from public databases.

UtahsRight.com, the data website for The Salt Lake Tribune, conducts an ongoing statewide quest for district court information and other public information, including salaries of public employees, criminal charges and restaurant inspections, using public records requests made under the state's Government Records Access and Management Act, commonly known as GRAMA.

dmeyers@sltrib.com

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