A Utah teen could face life in prison after she was found guilty of being an accomplice in the shooting death of a police officer earlier this year.
Meagan Grunwald, 18, could be sentenced this week after a jury found her guilty in May of
being an accomplice, according to The Salt Lake Tribune. The teen was accused of driving a truck while her 27-year-old boyfriend fired out the back window, killing Utah County Sheriff Sgt. Cory Wride and injuring Deputy Greg Sherwood.
The boyfriend,
identified by The Associated Press as Jose Angel Garcia-Jauregui, was eventually killed by police in the shootout.
Grunwald was found guilty of first-degree felony aggravated murder and first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder, along with a slew of other charges, The Tribune noted.
Deputy Utah county attorney Samuel Pead told the newspaper that prosecutors have not settled on what sentence to ask for.
"Victims of crime and victims' families are in the same unenviable position of loss, whether the perpetrator of their love one's death or serious injury is an adult or a minor," Pead said. "However, when the parties cannot find a middle ground through negotiation, they are left with putting the facts before a trier of fact, and having to accept the outcome of a trial."
Pam Vickrey, executive director of
Utah Juvenile Defender Attorneys, told the Deseret News that she does not believe young people and society benefit from putting juveniles away without a chance of parole.
"There's absolutely no information that a juvenile is better served with life in prison," Vickrey said.
Salt Lake County district attorney Sim Gill said that prosecutors, though, need the life-without-parole option for juveniles.
"I recognize there are certain categories of offenses and the nature of a crime and the violence of crime is such that, I'll say it very bluntly, the desire is to incapacitate," Gill told the Deseret News. "I just don't want this person circulating out there. How long and what is the appropriate time? I think we should use science and research to support that decision making rather than just an emotional response."
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