Hearing cancelled for Utah man charged in double homicide

A Thursday preliminary hearing was cancelled for a Cedar City man charged with the shooting deaths of two people at his home in February.

Thad Robertson, 54, is charged in 5th District Court with two counts of aggravated murder for the February shooting deaths of Diann Bailey, 59, and Jeffrey Lane Hardy, 52, whom police found shot inside a home at 386 N. 400 West.

Robertson is also charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of a firearm by a restricted person, which are felonies, as well as possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor.

Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett said the preliminary hearing was cancelled because attorneys are still working out "discovery issues," which usually pertain to making sure that prosecutors have given the defense all police and lab reports, and other information pertaining to an alleged crime.

According to the court docket, attorneys will contact the judge's clerk to reschedule the hearing for the middle or end of October.

Charging documents state that on Feb. 16, a California woman called Cedar City police to report that her father, Robertson, had called her to tell her he was suicidal, had "done something stupid and could not go to prison," according to the charges.

Robertson also told his daughter that "a gun was used as a scare tactic and as a result he had shot least one and possibly two subjects," the charges add.

Officers arrived at the home to find Robertson as he was leaving. Inside the home, police found Hardy's body — he had been shot twice — and Bailey, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. She was taken to the hospital and later died.

Investigators found a .357-caliber revolver next to Bailey, and a matching bullet in Robertson's front pants pocket. Robertson admitted the gun was his, according to the charges.

Police also found methamphetamine and a glass pipe in Robertson's pockets, and preliminary test of Robertson's urine showed "non-negative" for the drug, the charges add. Robertson was booked into Iron County jail.

Aggravated murder carries the potential for the death penalty. Prosecutors are not required to declare if they are pursuing the death penalty until after the preliminary hearing has been held.

According to Utah court records, all three of the people involved in the shooting case have lived at the Cedar City home at one time or another: Robertson has lived there since 2006, Bailey listed it as her address in 2007, and Hardy was living there in 2011.

In July 2007, Bailey filed for a protective order against Robertson, but two weeks later asked a judge to dismiss it, according to court records.

all.justice@sltrib.com