Duchesne • A jury has determined that the former police chief of a small Utah town is not guilty of stalking a woman over several days last summer.
Thomas Wade Butterfield, 45, was on trial Thursday for three misdemeanor charges: stalking, criminal trespassing in a dwelling and unlawful detention.
The jury of four men and two women deliberated for less than an hour before acquitting him of all three charges.
The alleged victim, Ashley Crippen, told jurors on Thursday that she first met Butterfield when she called police in July 2014 after her car, with her purse inside, was stolen. The Myton police chief was the responding officer, she testified.
Crippen testified that Butterfield invited her into his air-conditioned patrol car because it was hot outside, and once she was in the car, he began driving around town.
Conversation initially focused on her missing car, the woman told 8th District Court jurors. But about 10 minutes into the ride, the coversation turned sexual after she told Butterfield that she had heard about himborrowing pornography from a friend of hers.
Crippen testified that the chief then told her he hadn't had sex with his wife in five years, she testified, and asked her if she would like to be his mistress.
He also asked, "Had I ever thought about having sex with a cop?" Crippen testified.
The woman said the conversation made her "obviously uncomfortable" and she told him five or six times that he could let her out of the car — but he never stopped.
After about an hour, Crippen said Butterfield dropped her off in Myton and told her, "My car is like Vegas. What happens in here stays here."
Crippen testified that she saw Butterfield later that day after he offered to buy her children food. She said she also saw him the next day to fill out a police report, and he asked her if their conversations the day before had made her uncomfortable. She said she lied and told him no.
"I didn't want it to be a problem," she testified. "I felt like, we live in a small place and pointing fingers at people for things is easily done. And with him being in a position of authority, I could have gotten in trouble."
The following morning, Crippen said she awoke to find Butterfield standing in her room.
"I was kind of startled by it," she said, adding that she got out of bed and went to the living room with Butterfield.
Crippen said she sat with Butterfield in silence for some time.
"He ran his finger on my leg," she testified. "And that's when my dad walked through the door."
The woman testified that Butterfield talked with her father for about 20 minutes before leaving her home.
But on the witness stand, testifying in his own defense Thursday, Butterfield gave a different version of events. He admitted that they had an inappropriate conversation on their first encounter, but he stressed that he never threatened Crippen and only wanted to be her friend.
"It was completely unprofessional to talk about pornography or sex," Butterfield testified. "I recognize that. And I'm sorry."
The former chief said he took the woman for a drive only to find her missing car, and that he wasn't trying to detain her.
Butterfield further testified that on the day he was inside of Crippen's trailer, he was never in her bedroom and did not break into the home. He said the front door was open and there was a child standing in the doorway.
He testified that he knocked on the outside of the trailer for minutes before Crippen walked through her hallway. She was hard to understand and was mumbling, Butterfield testified, and the two sat down on her couch. She asked him for candy, Butterfield said, and he asked her if she was sick or diabetic.
"She zoned out for about 30 seconds," Butterfield testified. "I shook her knee. She kind of mumbled and responded and asked for water."
Deputy Duchesne County Attorney Grant Charles said in his closing argument Thursday that Butterfield caused Crippen to fear for her safety. But Butterfield's attorney, Earl Xaiz, argued that while his client spoke inappropriately, he did not break any laws.
"The purpose of this trial is not to judge Mr. Butterfield morally," Xaiz told jurors. "Because if it was, we'd be done. Because what he did was totally inappropriate conduct for a law enforcement officer."
Neither attorney, nor Butterfield wished to comment after the verdict.
Butterfield — who became the first chief in the small Duchesne County community's newly formed police department in July 2014 — was charged in September 2014 and fired a month later during a meeting with Mayor Kathleen Cooper.
Butterfield has since given up his police certification.
The former chief was at one time accused of stalking three different women. He still faces another charge of stalking in connection with a different woman, but a trial on that charge has not been set.
A third woman testified about stalking allegations at a July preliminary hearing, but Judge Samuel Chiara ruled the evidence was insufficient to support that charge.
jmiller@sltrib.com