Witness says Joshua Binkerd did not order Jordanelle murder

HEBER CITY — The murder trial of a Taylorsville man accused of giving the "green light" for the 2008 shooting death of a woman in Jordanelle State Park took a sharp turn Tuesday when a defense witness testified that someone else ordered the killing.

Scott Rees, an inmate at the Salt Lake County Jail in the days after Ashley Sparks, 21, was killed, told a 4th District Court jury that Christopher Alvey, now 21, admitted shooting her because he thought she was a snitch.

But, Rees said, Alvey did not tell him that Joshua Binkerd, now on trial, gave the order to Alvey, who pleaded guilty to aggravated murder last year and received a prison sentence of 20 years to life in exchange for his testimony.

Instead, Rees testified, Alvey said the order came from Jason Cowdell, known by his street name, "Flaco."

"I clearly remember him saying Flaco told him to do it," Rees said, adding that he had crossed paths with Cowdell before and thought he was a "scumbag."

"I wasn't the least bit surprised when I heard that (Cowdell) told this kid to do this," Rees said.

Alvey, Binkerd, 23, and Cowdell allegedly came to believe over time that Sparks was informing police about their check-forging and drug-selling operations, and were especially angered when she copied numbers from Cowdell's phone days before she was killed.

The defense rested after also calling Binkerd's ex-girlfriend, Valerie Williams, who testified that Alvey often told wild stories and she never believed anything he said.

Previously, Williams testified that Alvey resented how she was trying to draw Binkerd away from his criminal life.

Still, the three enjoyed Christmas Day in 2008 together. Alvey held a camcorder as Binkerd asked Williams to marry him. She accepted.

But the day took a dark turn after Binkerd went to bed and Alvey and Williams smoked methamphetamine in the living room, according to her testimony. She became upset when he used her rice cooker to bleach bullets and told her they were intended for Sparks.

The next morning, Cowdell and another man, Cody Brooks, delivered Sparks to Alvey near Binkerd's apartment. Brooks was jailed last week for refusing to testify at the trial, despite being granted immunity. Cowdell also declined to answer questions, citing the Fifth Amendment.