More charges filed in slaying of Millard County sheriff's deputy Josie Fox

FILLMORE — New charges have been filed against two men in connection with the slaying of a Millard County sheriff's deputy.

Prosecutors have added a charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony, against Roberto Miramontes Roman, who is accused of fatally shooting Josie Greathouse Fox during an early morning traffic stop Jan. 5 on a rural road east of Delta.

Roman was already charged with capital murder and evidence tampering. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. He was restricted from possessing a gun because he is an illegal alien.

Ruben Chavez-Reyes, who was previously charged with obstruction of justice, now faces the same weapon charge and four other felonies: two counts of burglary and two counts of evidence tampering.

One burglary charge involves a "dwelling" and the other involves a "non-dwelling," but prosecutor Patrick Finlinson declined to provide any details about the alleged offenses.

"The (charging documents) speak for themselves," he said.

The evidence tampering charges against Chavez-Reyes indicate that he altered, concealed or destroyed a cell phone and a firearm. The alleged crimes occurred in Millard, Juab, Salt Lake, Utah and Beaver counties, according to the charges.

Attorneys for Roman and Chavez-Reyes told the Deseret News prosecutors have given them no information on either case.

The Deseret News has filed motions to unseal court records in the cases. Prosecutors replied in court filings that releasing the records "would cause a substantial risk of harm to the safety of the state's material witnesses, because they contain confidential information which would expose those witnesses to retaliation by the defendants' friends and associates."

That information "would pose a clearly unwarranted invasion of or harm to the reputation or privacy of those material witnesses," prosecutors argued. They also said the release of the records, containing "sensitive and inflammatory information," would impede the "massive investigation" of the killing and would jeopardize the defendants' right to a fair trial.

Roman was allegedly driving a Cadillac registered to Chavez-Reyes when Fox stopped him, and a Corvette owned by Chavez-Reyes was discovered in Salt Lake City the next morning carrying one of the Cadillac's license plates.

The two men were arrested the following day when they were discovered in a shed in Beaver.

e-mail: pkoepp@desnews.com