A Utah County deputy who struck and killed a Brigham Young University student in 2021 pleaded down to a misdemeanor Friday, effectively canceling his felony manslaughter trial that was scheduled to begin Monday.
The deputy, Joe Richardson, 54, was initially charged with manslaughter in 2022 in connection with the Provo crash that killed 22-year-old Joseph Spencer. Richardson pleaded not guilty to the charge on Dec. 13, according to court documents.
On Friday, Richardson pleaded guilty to negligent homicide, a misdemeanor, as part of a plea in abeyance agreement, according to court documents. He could face up to a year in jail, documents state. But since his plea will be held in abeyance for 18 months, the charge may ultimately be amended to a violation of reckless driving if he follows the terms of the agreement during that time.
Under the terms of the agreement, Richardson agreed to not violate any law, be convicted of violating any law, or enter into a diversion or plea in abeyance to any such violation. He also agreed to keep the court notified of his current address, appear for any hearings scheduled in his case, and pay any court costs as ordered.
Should Richardson follow the terms, prosecutors agreed not to request any fine or jail time for the amended reckless driving violation, court documents state.
Randy Spencer, an attorney for Joseph Spencer’s family, said the family had no comment regarding the criminal case.
On March 16, 2021, Joseph Spencer was pulling out of a Taco Bell parking lot at 433 North and 900 East in Provo when Richardson crashed into Spencer’s vehicle, killing the student.
According to the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, that afternoon, Richardson had been rushing to the scene of a police standoff involving an armed man in Pleasant Grove in which no one was injured. The black truck that Richardson was driving was his personal vehicle and was not equipped with lights or sirens, police said.
Data collected from Richardson’s vehicle showed that he was traveling at about 56 mph as he drove southbound on 900 East, where the speed limit is 35 mph, just before the fatal crash, a charging document states.
Richardson plowed into Spencer’s vehicle as the student was trying to turn left out of the parking lot.
“As I was coming down here I saw him start to pull out in front of me,” Richardson told authorities, according to the charging document. “I shouldn’t have tried to beat him.”
After the wreck, Richardson rendered aid to Spencer, the document reads, but Spencer was declared dead at the scene. The cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head, a medical examiner determined.
Richardson has been on administrative leave since the 2021 crash, Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office said.
Joseph Spencer’s family had previously filed a lawsuit against Richardson, but as of June, that lawsuit has been “resolved satisfactorily to all parties” and dismissed, said Randy Spencer.
Joseph Spencer was “quiet and easygoing, but quick-witted,” according to a personal obituary. “He had an infectious laugh and smile, and he loved to make others laugh.”
At the time of his death, he had recently served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in San Diego, the obituary states. A BYU spokesperson said Spencer had been majoring in information technology.
