No-contest plea in bull's shooting

VERNAL — A man pleaded no contest Tuesday to repeatedly shooting a neighbor's prize rodeo bull in September.

Devin Murray, 24, entered pleas to one count of criminal mischief and one count of discharging a firearm from a vehicle or highway. The criminal mischief charge was reduced from a second-degree felony to a class A misdemeanor, under a plea agreement with Uintah County prosecutors.

According to court records, Murray used a shotgun to shoot Charley's Nephew five times on Sept. 15. The attack on the 4-year-old rodeo bull was allegedly motivated by damage the animal had done to Murray's property and livestock.

Charley's Nephew survived the shooting but suffered extensive injuries, including being blinded in one eye. Tony Mendes told the Deseret Morning News in October that he purchased the bull in a 2004 televised auction for $4,700. Charley's Nephew appeared in rodeos across the country since that time, and Mendes said the animal had a value of $25,000 to $50,000 when he was shot.

A sentencing hearing for Murray has been set for Aug. 8, but restitution likely won't be settled then because Mendes is expected to seek damages in a civil suit that has not yet been filed.