Beaver County Criminal Defense Attorney Jake Gunter Call/TXT (801) 373-6345 Free Consult
Beaver County, Utah has a population of 7,072 in 2022. Beaver City is located just off Interstate 15 which runs North-South the length of Utah. If you are out-of-state and are charged in the Beaver County Justice Court or the 5th District Court, call/txt Beaver County criminal defense attorney Jake Gunter.
Avoid court. Get out of jail, get bail and have Jake Gunter handle the matter while you go back to your home state.
Video Calls. Video conferences available, free consultation, just call.
Out-of-State Criminal Defendants. Being charged with simple marijuana possession or reckless driving while out-of-state can be nerve racking. Beaver County criminal defense attorney Jake Gunter regularly handles out-of-state residents who are charged while traveling though Utah. Going over 105mph is automatically reckless driving in Utah.
Video Court. Due to COVID most Beaver County Justice Court and 5th District Court hearings are conducted by video. Attorney Jake Gunter strives to avoid going to court and complete your criminal charges on paper.
Entirely by Mail. Going to court is stressful. Attorney Jake Gunter tries on minor charges to completely avoid court all together by pleading by mail. Plea affidavits are where you plead guilty and get sentenced completely on paper and avoid court.
Common Beaver County Justice Court Charges.
Domestic Violence (“DV”). Domestic violence charges in the Beaver County Justice Court are some of the most serious charges levied in justice courts. Assault, domestic violence charges are Class B Misdemeanors and carry up to 6 months in the Beaver County Jail. Domestic violence convictions make you a firearms restricted person. Meaning you can’t possess a gun. See Utah Code 76-10-503. You are also federally a firearms restricted person. Utah’s main statute addressing domestic violence is the Cohabantant Abuse Act at 77-36-101.
Reckless Driving. Interstate 15 is 80 mph. Any speed over 105 mph hour is automatically Reckless Driving. See Utah Code 41-6a-528. Three of more moving violations in a 2 mile stretch is also deemed reckless driving. Or, one single, obnoxiously, reckless event can be reckless driving also. Reckless Driving is a Class B Misdemeanor and carries up to 6 months in the Beaver County Jail. It puts 80 points on your Utah driving record and in limited circumstances is an enhanceable offense.
Speeding. Avoid points and having your insurance go up. Often reducing your speeding ticket can help your insurance rates and will reduce your points.
Simple Marijuana Possession. Simple drug possession in Utah when operating a motor vehicle will still suspend your driver’s license. A lot can be done to avoid suspending your license, but it can still happen. If you don’t take care of your simple marijuana possession ticket in Utah, your license in your home state will likely be suspended. Utah often shares information with other states and many of people have received letters from their home states indicating something in Utah suspended their license.
Strategies to Avoid License Suspension in 2023: (1). Use a plea in abeyance to avoid license suspension completely. (2). Use a legal fiction that no car was involved and therefore under the statute, no license suspension is needed. (3). Argue that in the interest of justice under Utah Code 53-3-220 that no license is suspension merited. (4). Plea bargain around the drug charge that will suspend your license.
Drug Paraphernalia. Like all drug charges, drug paraphernalia can also suspend your Utah or home state license. Utah’ drug paraphernalia statute is written extremely broad so that most anything used with drugs is deemed paraphernalia.
Out-of-State Drug Charges. Out-of-state travelers charged while driving though Utah should try to avoid court and plead the charges (when appropriate) by mail. Attorney Jake Gunter can help. Free consult, just call. He can normally tell you in 5 minutes on the phone if you have a chance.
DUI. DUIs, like reckless driving and all drug charges have mandatory court appearances. Utah DUIs always carry mandatory sentencing sanctions such as jail, license sanction and interlock. All DUI like convictions, whether Impaired Driving, metabolite drugged driving or extreme DUIs are enhanceable offenses. Meaning earlier DUI convictions can be used against you in the future.
Beaver County Justice Court Filings in 2022: 
The Beaver County Justice Court had 4,056 total filings in 2022. Not including the Milford or Minersville Justice Court which totaled 176 additional filings. The Beaver County Justice Court filings were composed of:
237 Misdemeanors (and some other miscellaneous filings).
6 Small claims.
3,813 traffic offenses.
30 DUIs. (You can say this court isn’t used to jury trials)
To give perspective the West Valley City Justice Court west of Salt Lake City had 19,376 filings in 2022. The most in Utah.
5th District Court. The Beaver County 5th District Court handles bigger more serious criminal charges. It handles Class A, felony 3, felony 2 and felony 1. The district court will handle Class B, Class C and Infractions if they accompany more serious charges.
Justice Court Appeals. Utah’s 5th District Court also handles all de novo justice court appeals from the Beaver County, Minersville and Milford Justice Courts. Appeals from a justice court to a district court is a “do over.” Meaning the entire jury trial is conducted again.
Common 5th District Court Charges
Felony distribution of drugs. Drug distribution charges can land you in prison, even on a first time conviction. Meth, heroin and cocaine distribution charges are even more serious and can often be picked up with federal charges.
Felony DUI. All DUIs are enchanceable, even DUIs from another state count as priors. Felony DUIs carry mandatory 60 plus days in jail. Multiple felony DUI convictions will certainly land you in prison.
Felony Domestic Violence. Domestic violence charges are all enhanceable. Being charged with assault causing substantial bodily injury can be enhanced with a prior DV conviction to a felony 3. Domestic violence is one of the few criminal charges where you can be held without bail if the court finds that you are a risk to the public or to the complaining witness (or any other person).
5th Judicial District Filings in 2022: The Beaver County 5th District had 500 total filings in 2022. Only 137 were criminal.
Who Prosecutes in the Beaver County Justice and 5th District Court? 
The Beaver County Attorney’s Office. The duly elected Beaver County Attorney prosecutes all cases in the Beaver County Justice Court and the 5th District Court in Beaver. The Beaver County Attorneys’ office is small, generally consisting of two attorneys and staff.
Navigating the Beaver County Jail. The Beaver County Jail is newer facility co-located with the Beaver County Attorney’s Office, the Beaver County Justice Court, the Juvenile Court and the 5th District Court. The Utah Highway Patrol and Sheriff’s Department are also co-located with the jail. Just off I-15 exit, like most small Utah jails, the Beaver County Jail is very accommodating.
No Bail Situation? A no bail situation is a very hard day for the accused. It is really hard defending yourself in jail and even harder for your out-of-county attorney because Beaver County is nearly 3 hours away from the Wasatch Front (Ogden, SLC, Provo).
Hiring an attorney immediately to help obtain bail is critical.
CALL/TXT ATTORNEY JAKE GUNTER (801) 373-6345 FOR A FREE CONSULTATION REGARDING YOUR BEAVER COUNTY MATTER BEAVER COUNTY CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESOURCES
5th District Court – Beaver County
2270 South 525 West
Beaver, UT 84713
Phone: 435-438-5309
Fax: 435-438-5395
5th District Juvenile Court – Beaver County
2270 South 525 West
Beaver, UT 84713
Phone: 435-438-5309
Fax: 435-438-5395
Beaver County Justice Court – Beaver
2270 South 625 West
Beaver, UT 84713
Phone: 435-438-6470
Fax: 435-438-5348
Beaver County Justice Court – Minersville
60 West Main Street
Minersville, UT 84752
Fax: 435-386-2586
Fax: 435-386-2586
Beaver County Justice Court – Milford
26 South 100 West
Milford, UT 84751
Phone: 435-387-5571
Fax: 435-387-2524
ADJACENT UTAH COUNTIES
Millard County (North) Largest city and county seat is Filmore City. Location of the Millard County Jail and the Fourth Judicial District Court. 13,330 people.
Iron County (South). 62,429 as of 07/2022 census.
Sevier County (East). 1,910 people as 07/2022 census.
Piute County (East). One of Utah’s least populated counties at 1,487 people in 07/2022.
CITIES IN BEAVER COUNTY, UTAH
Beaver. (county seat and location of Beaver County Jail, Beaver County Justice Court and 5th Judicial District Court) Population in 2022 was 7,072.
Milford, Minersville, Adamsville, Blue acre, Cook Corner, Frisco, Greenville, Laho, Manderfield, Cunningham Hill, Murdock, Newhouse, North Creek, Sulphurdale, Thermo, Upton, Yellow Banks, Shauntie, Shenandoah City and Smyth
