This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2006, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Posted: 11:16 AM- A trial set to begin this month in the decades-old Box Elder County slaying and robbery of a gas station attendant has been rescheduled for Jan. 23 so the defense can run its own tests of DNA evidence. Meanwhile, the trial judge on Monday determined that one defendant in the case can be compelled to take the stand and testify against the other. Glenn Howard Griffin, 49, is charged with capital murder for the May 26, 1984, death of 21-year-old Bradley Newell Perry, who was stabbed with a screwdriver and had his head crushed with a 60-pound metal cylinder at the Texaco Short Stop in the town of Perry, just south of Brigham City.
Wade Garrett Maughan, 51, also is charged with capital murder, but has told police that he merely held the victim's legs during the attack, and only because Griffin threatened to kill him, too.
Prosecutors say Maughan's testimony is a critical element of their case against Griffin. They have granted Maughan immunity in the sense that nothing he says on the witness stand may be used against him at his own trial, which has yet to be set.
To further protect Maughan, prosecutors have promised to submit under seal a summary of the evidence against him at the time of Griffin's trial.
First District Judge Ben Hadfield, in a written decision signed Monday, sided with prosecutors by agreeing that Maughan's right against self-incrimination while testifying will be preserved by the immunity grant.
If Maughan refuses to testify despite the immunity, the judge can hold Maughan in contempt of court and prosecutors may pursue additional charges of obstructing justice.
But such threats may seem trivial in comparison to the possibility of the death penalty, which Maughan, who is already in jail, could face if convicted for his part in the slaying.
Maughan's defense attorney, Rich Mauro, did not return a phone call from The Tribune. But in court filings, Mauro argued that Utah's constitution allows only for complete immunity against prosecution when a witness facing charges is compelled to testify.
The 1984 slaying occurred after Griffin got into an argument with Perry over how much money he gave the clerk, according to preliminary hearing testimony.
When Perry attempted to call police, Griffin hit him with the phone, then ordered Maughan to help him subdue the clerk.
During the struggle, in which Perry was stabbed with a screwdriver, Perry apparently managed to scratch Griffin, causing bleeding that later helped tie Griffin to the crime, according to police.
Maughan told police he hid while Griffin attended to some customers.
The customers - two Utah State University students - stopped for gas and cigarettes and were given change that included a bloody dollar bill. The students later told police that the man who served them had blood on his arm. Blood from the bill was kept stored away until last year, when improved DNA testing techniques were used to test it and match the blood to Griffin, who was serving time in a federal prison in California for a weapons violation.
Griffin's attorney, John Caine, said he believes the blood got on the dollar bill weeks or months before the slaying. Caine also questions the reliability of Maughan's statements to police and wants Maughan to undergo a psychological exam before testifying. Maughan, who was identified by police as one of Griffin's friends at the time of the slaying, was tracked down in Spokane, Wash.
shunt@sltrib.com" Target="_BLANK">shunt@sltrib.com