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SALT LAKE CITY — A man convicted of attacking classmates at Mountain View High School has been granted a parole date before he even arrives at the Utah State Prison.
But even though Luke Christian Dollahite, of Orem, could be released from prison in 2024, his attorney is still trying to stop him from being sent there in the first place.
Dollarhite was 16 when he attacked five students in a Mountain View High School locker room on Nov. 15, 2016, stabbing four of them and beating the fifth with a bo staff.
Dollahite agreed to a plea deal, admitting to four of the counts in juvenile court while the final count was transferred to 4th District Court where Dollahite was convicted as an adult of attempted aggravated murder.
He was sentenced to serve 10 years to life at the Utah State Prison once his juvenile sentence was completed. Once an offender turns 21, juvenile courts no longer have jurisdiction over that person.
A parole hearing was scheduled shortly after his sentence was handed down, something that is common for all offenders, even though he had not been transferred to the prison yet. That hearing was held on Jan. 5.
During the hearing, Dollahite talked about how he was suffering from extreme depression in 2016. But since being incarcerated, he has benefitted not only from treatment, but from corresponding with the family of one of his victims.
It was also noted during the hearing that Dollahite's attorney had filed a motion claiming that his client was given an illegal sentence because it "exceeded statutory maximums and violated his double jeopardy rights."
When Dollahite agreed to multiple plea agreements arising from his case, he was "still a minor, suffering severe psychological symptoms and facing the potential of life in an adult prison when he was forced to make an agreement with the state, which he could not legally enter or mentally understand," according to the motion. "It is a classic case of coercion by the state.
"Never before in Utah County, and never since, has a juvenile been placed in the coercive position of choosing to plead in adult court in order to stay in the juvenile court system. These types of 'blended sentences,' while technically allowed under the law, do not account for the unconscionable circumstances in which a juvenile is placed and forced to make a life-altering, and potentially life-ending decision should the juvenile end up in a violent adult prison," the motion says.
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'I will never let myself hurt another person': Orem man who stabbed classmates in locker room attack seeks parole
A man convicted of attacking five of his Mountain View High classmates in a locker room when he was a 16-year-old student went before the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole for the first time on Tuesday.Blended sentences, however, have been issued in courts throughout the state.
Dollahite's motion seeks to keep him in a secured juvenile facility until he turns 25.
Dollahite will turn 21 in November.
Recently, the Board of Pardons and Parole granted parole for Dollahite beginning Nov. 12, 2024. He will be 24 years old at that time.
HIs release date however, is contingent, in part, to Dollahite having "no major disciplinary violations" from now until his parole date, according to the board.
The board also scheduled a review of Dollahite's case on March 1 "to check on the status of pending trial court motion."
Until his parole date, the board encouraged Dollahite "to engage in all available educational coursework and appropriate life skills and cognitive behavioral therapy prior to release."
