Sheriffs charged for allegedly interfering with Kouri Richins investigation

PARK CITY — Criminal charges have been filed against Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby and former Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds for allegedly interfering in the Kouri Richins investigation.

Rigby was charged by a grand jury on Sept. 24 in Summit County's 3rd District Court with obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony, and making a written false statement, a class B misdemeanor. Edmunds was charged on Sept. 24 with obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony.

The charges were unsealed on Wednesday, but the indictments outlining the allegations remained redacted. A hearing regarding whether those redactions should also be made public is scheduled for Nov. 4.

"This case presents uncommon circumstances requiring a charging document to be made public only after targeted redaction: an indictment containing inflammatory and uncharged allegations, identifying information concerning non-parties, sensitive investigative material, and contested assertions about a highly publicized prosecution," Rigby's attorney wrote in his motion to release only a redacted indictment. "The public has a legitimate interest in knowing the charges and the operation of the criminal justice system. That interest can be honored without publishing material that would expose uncharged individuals, breach grand-jury secrecy, disclose privileged material, or unfairly prejudice Sheriff Rigby."

"The indictment is not a succinct charging document. It contains uncharged conduct attributed to third parties, uncharged allegations against Sheriff Rigby unrelated to either count, legal commentary, identifying details about non-defendants, and argumentative conclusions rather than merely stating the charges. Public dissemination of those portions before trial would threaten Sheriff Rigby's fair-trial rights," the motion continues.

Likewise, attorneys for Edmunds filed a similar motion asking that the unredacted indictment against their client not be made public.

"Mr. Edmunds requests that the court deny unrestricted unsealing at this time, maintain the existing seal pending a prompt hearing, and determine whether continued sealing is justified under the governing standards. Alternatively, he requests a public version of the indictment with only those narrative passages redacted that the court finds necessary to protect his fair-trial rights. Any order should specify the scope and duration of the restriction, the supporting findings, and the basis for concluding that less restrictive measures are insufficient," the motion states.

Rigby and Edmunds are accused of interfering with part of the investigation surrounding Kouri Richins, who was convicted of murdering her husband in 2022, by not following the guidelines set forth in the federal Brady-Giglio policy, which mandates that the prosecution must disclose all mitigating and aggravating information regarding a witness.

Earlier this year, Richins and her attorneys filed a motion for a new trial and to disqualify trial Judge Richard Mrazik. The motion to disqualify was denied. Then, on Sept. 18, Richins asked the court to hold off on deciding whether to grant a new trial and filed their request under seal. They withdrew the request on Sept. 29 and the motion was made public.

In their motion for stay, defense attorneys state that in January, the court received an anonymous letter outlining "numerous allegations of improper conduct against former Summit County detective Eric Mainord. The conduct was alleged to have taken place during his employment with the Heber City Police Department. Det. Mainord was pivotal in the investigation and ultimately the charges brought against Ms. Richins."

Mainord — who was going to run against Rigby for sheriff — was ultimately removed from the state's witness list during the Richins' trial and withdrew from the Wasatch County sheriff's race in May.

Based on recently unsealed search warrants, defense attorneys say "that the allegations against detective Mainord were in fact true. Further, it has become known that numerous individuals, including the Wasatch County sheriff, the former Summit County sheriff, the Park City chief of police, and others, are being investigated for obstruction of justice and attempts to interfere in Ms. Richins' prosecution," according to the motion. "It is now known that charges against numerous individuals involved in these matters are imminent. It is yet unknown to the public and the defense how the conduct being investigated may have affected Ms. Richins' case.

"Serious allegations of a conspiracy to interfere with Ms. Richins' right to a fair trial by high-ranking law enforcement officials must not go unaddressed," the defense stated.

Prosecutors argued that the defense's motion to stay was based mainly on a report from KPCW.

"It is now known that the court was fully apprised of information regarding Brady and Giglio as to detective Mainord, possible obstruction of justice and information that individuals in both Summit County government and surrounding counties were potentially involved in attempts to interfere with the highly public trial happening in his courtroom, yet none of this was disclosed to the defense," the defense stated in court documents.

No public charges had been filed as of Wednesday against Mainord or Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter.

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