Effective 05/01/2024 if you are convicted of drug distribution while possessing a gun new mandatory minimum prison sentences apply. Jail is no longer an option unless you can convince the judge to deviate.
Newly amended 58-37-8(1)(c)(ii) (Utah’s Controlled Substances Act) requires a Utah District Court to impose a prison term for a person who has been convicted of a violation of drug distribution or counterfeit drug distribution that is a first or second degree felony if the trier of fact finds beyond a reasonable doubt that, during the commission or furtherance of the violation, the accused intentionally or knowingly:
(A) used, drew, or exhibited a dangerous weapon in an angry, threatening, intimidating, or coercive manner, or
(B) used a firearm or had a firearm readily accessible for immediate use, or
(C) distributed a firearm, or
(D) possessed a firearm with intent to distribute the firearm.
Exception: Prison is the presumptive statutory mandatory minimum, but a judge can deviate and place you in jail or on probation IF:
(A) details on the record the reasons why it is in the interests of justice not to impose the indeterminate prison term;
(B) makes a finding on the record that the person does not pose a significant
safety risk to the public; and
(C) orders the person to complete the terms and conditions of supervised probation provided by the Department of Corrections.
The Jury Must Find that you used a gun during the drug distribution crime. It is not up to the judge unless it is a judge only trial. The jury must determine beyond a reasonable doubt that you used the dangerous weapon or firearm as part of the crime.
