This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
A 32-year-old man was ordered to stand trial Thursday, accused of beating a man to death last year in St. George.
Mario Antoine Lucero, also known as Mario Alfonso Lucero, was charged in 5th District Court with one count of first-degree felony murder, one count of third-degree felony assault, along with misdemeanor charges of criminal mischief and assault.
On Thursday, a preliminary hearing was held, where prosecutors presented evidence and a judge ruled there was probable cause for Lucero to stand trial on the charges. According to court records, Lucero's attorney, Edward Flint, had asked the judge to amend the murder charge to the lesser charge of manslaughter, but 5th District Judge Michael Westfall denied the request. He ordered Lucero to stand trial on the original charges and set an Oct. 22 arraignment date.
Jeramy Shawn Olsen, 31, died on Feb. 16, 2013, the day after he allegedly got into an altercation with Lucero in the 1000 North block of 1240 West in St. George.
The St. George Spectrum reported Olsen was the common-law husband of Lucero's sister, and that Lucero is accused of punching the man repeatedly in the head, causing fatal head injuries.
Lucero fled the scene after the altercation, and was arrested several days later in California.
Lucero is also charged in an unrelated case with first-degree felony assault on a prisoner. Westfall also heard testimony in that case Thursday before ordering Lucero to stand trial on the charge. Little information about the alleged crime is available in court records, but records indicate the assault occurred on Oct. 7 in Washington County.
Twitter: @jm_miller