Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings has dropped all bribery charges against former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.
Moments before a preliminary hearing was set to begin, prosecutors filed amended charges against former Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff. Instead of facing several bribery charges, Shurtleff is now being accused of accepting prohibited gifts. In total he’s facing 5 felony charges and 2 misdemeanor charges, down from the 10 felonies prosecutors originally accused him of. Shurtleff’s attorney, Richard Van Wagoner, says he thinks the charges were dropped because they never should have been there in the first place.
“Troy Rawlings cared enough to review the evidence and conclude that there was no bribery, there was no quid-pro-quo for employment. That’s what I take from it,” he says.
As for Shurtleff, he was limited to saying, “I’m feeling good. I have great counsel and I look forward to moving forward.”
For now, Shurtleff has waived his right to a preliminary hearing, but could ask for one in the future. He’s scheduled to enter a plea on June 29. Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings declined to comment on why his office dropped the charges.