Teen convicted in deputy's death says judge was biased


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PROVO — In a motion for a new trial, an attorney for the 18-year-old getaway driver convicted in the shootings of two officers claims the judge who tried the case was biased.

The new attorney for Meagan Grunwald — who was found guilty May of aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder in the shootings of Utah County Sheriff's Sgt. Cory Wride and deputy Greg Sherwood — argues that 4th District Judge Darold McDade's comments at sentencing reveal he carried a bias throughout the trial.

"Grunwald now asserts that (McDade's) comments at sentencing infringed upon her right to a fair trial, as those comments demonstrate that this court was not impartial and operated under a bias originating outside of the proceedings in the case," attorney Douglas Thompson argued in the motion filed last week. "Grunwald asserts that these errors and improprieties had a substantial adverse effect upon her rights."

Grunwald, who was 17 at the time of the Jan. 30, 2014, shootings, was the getaway driver as her boyfriend, Jose Angel Garcia-Juaregui, fired out the pickup truck's windows during a chase with police. Prosecutors argued that Grunwald was a willing accomplice in the crime spree, making no effort to leave her boyfriend before he died in a shootout with officers.

McDade told Grunwald at her sentencing that he recognized her dysfunctional upbringing left her vulnerable, but that he struggled to believe she couldn't see Garcia's dark side.

"You are a victim, but I don't believe you are a victim in the way you look at it," McDade told Grunwald. "You contributed to the death of a very good man."

Grunwald testified during the nine-day trial that she didn't know Garcia had a gun and that the older man ordered her to drive, threatening to kill her and her family if she didn't comply.

Found guilty on 11 charges, Grunwald was ordered to spend at least 30 years and up to life in prison, including sentences of 25 years to life for aggravated murder and a consecutive sentence of five years to life for aggravated robbery. Sentences for the remaining nine charges against her will be served consecutively.

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