From Deseret News archives:
South Salt Lake beating gets 2nd look
The office confirmed to the Deseret News Tuesday that it is taking another look at the case of Dan Fair, who received a vicious beating after a family — believing their children had just been kidnapped — allegedly barged into Fair's house and attacked him and his partner, David "DJ" James Bell.
Bell was arrested and charged with two counts of child kidnapping, a first-degree felony, and a single count of burglary, a second-degree felony. Monday, a judge scheduled a three-day trial to begin on April 29.
On July 4, police said two children were found in Bell's South Salt Lake home. Bell's family and friends claim he took them in after they were found wandering the street by themselves. The children's parents claim the children were kidnapped from their home.
After the mother found the children at Bell's home, police said several family members broke into Bell's home and beat him and Fair severely.
Fair suffered the worst injuries. At one point during the attack on Fair, someone dropped a TV on his head.
The father of the children was arrested by South Salt Lake police for the beating. The District Attorney's Office declined to file felony assault charges citing "insufficient evidence" and referred the case to the South Salt Lake prosecutor's office to consider misdemeanor charges.
The South Salt Lake city attorney still had not made a decision as of Tuesday whether that office would file or decline charges.
Tuesday, deputy district attorney Alicia Cook said her office once again had the Fair case under review, but prosecutors were not reconsidering the assault charges.
"It's a different theory that's under investigation. We are taking a look at a different theory," she said.
By "theory," Cook said that didn't mean the facts of what happened had changed. Rather, prosecutors were investigating whether or not to file different charges other than assault, she said.
Because of the pending case against Bell, however, Cook said she could not talk much about what new charges may potentially be considered. Furthermore, she said it would be unlikely that any decisions would be made in the near future.
Cook noted that what the district attorney was doing now should not affect whether South Salt Lake wanted to continue screening misdemeanor assault charges.
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com, bwinslow@desnews.com
