State v. Clegg

2025 UT App 61

THE UTAH COURT OF APPEALS

STATE OF UTAH,
Appellee,
v.
EDDIE MICHAEL CLEGG,
Appellant.

Opinion
No. 20230012-CA
Filed May 1, 2025

Second District Court, Ogden Department
The Honorable Joseph M. Bean
No. 211903061

Emily Adams, Freyja Johnson, and Hannah K.
Leavitt-Howell, Attorneys for Appellant
Christopher F. Allred and Steven A. Lee,
Attorneys for Appellee

JUDGE RYAN D. TENNEY authored this Opinion, in which
JUDGES JOHN D. LUTHY and AMY J. OLIVER concurred.

TENNEY, Judge:

¶1 Eddie Clegg was walking on the shoulder of a one-
way road when an officer approached him and ordered him to
stop. Clegg shouted at the officer and continued walking.
The officer quickly arrested Clegg, and Clegg was later charged
with, among other things, failing to stop at the command of an
officer. The case went to trial, and a jury convicted Clegg on that
charge.

¶2 After trial, Clegg filed a motion to arrest judgment, arguing
that there was insufficient evidence to prove the intent element
for the offense of failing to stop at the command of an officer. The
State v. Clegg

district court denied the motion, and Clegg now appeals that
decision. For the reasons set forth below, we agree with Clegg that
the motion to arrest judgment should have been granted. We
therefore vacate that conviction.

BACKGROUND 1

¶3 On December 1, 2021, Clegg’s motorhome and truck were
impounded by law enforcement. Clegg later said that he felt like
he had “lost everything.” 2

¶4 Later that day, Clegg decided to go to a friend’s house and
ended up walking on the shoulder of 20th Street in Ogden. The
portion of 20th Street where Clegg was walking is a one-way, two-
lane road running westbound that bridges over a viaduct and
railroad tracks; after the bridge section, the road rejoins with two
additional lanes that run eastbound. Clegg was walking with
traffic on the westbound, bridge portion of the road. The picture
below was introduced as an exhibit by the State at trial, and it
shows the portion of the road in question:

1. “On appeal, we recite the facts from the record in the light most
favorable to the jury’s verdict and present conflicting evidence
only as necessary to understand issues raised on appeal.” State v.
Suhail, 2023 UT App 15, n.1, 525 P.3d 550 (quotation simplified).

2. At sentencing, Clegg’s attorney asserted (without any pushback
from the State) that Clegg had been “living out of his vehicle”
when his motorhome and truck were impounded.

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State v. Clegg

¶5 While Clegg was walking, police dispatch received reports
that someone was “acting erratic” and walking on “the side” or
perhaps “the middle of the road,” so two officers were sent to the
scene. One of the officers later testified that he and his partner
were sent because of a potential “safety hazard.”

¶6 When the officers arrived, Clegg was walking on the left
shoulder of the westbound road, between the guardrail and the
left yellow edge line. The officers activated their patrol lights and
stopped their vehicle a short distance behind Clegg. Both of the
officers got out of the vehicle, and one of them (Officer) repeatedly
yelled to Clegg, “Come here. Stop walking.” But Clegg continued
to walk away. While doing so, Clegg repeatedly yelled, “[t]hey
took my home,” and he also repeatedly asked the officers if they
were going to “beat [him] up.” Officer then ran toward Clegg,
grabbed Clegg’s arm, and placed him in handcuffs. The encounter
was recorded on Officer’s body camera, and that recording was
later played at trial. As shown in that recording, the entire verbal
discussion described above took place within 30 seconds of
officers arriving and getting out of their vehicle, and Clegg was in
handcuffs less than 30 seconds after that.

¶7 After being handcuffed, Clegg was put in the back seat of
the police vehicle. Officer got into the vehicle and told Clegg that
he was about to read Clegg his Miranda rights. Clegg responded,

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State v. Clegg

“For what?” Officer told Clegg that he was being arrested, which
prompted Clegg to again ask, “For what?” Officer read Clegg his
Miranda rights, and after Clegg confirmed that he wished to speak
with Officer, Officer asked Clegg why he was “in the middle of
the road.” Clegg responded that he “wasn’t in the middle of the
street.” Officer then asked Clegg, “Why didn’t you stop when I
told you to stop?” Clegg responded, “Because you just
impounded my vehicle, the cops did. Illegally.” When Officer
asked the same question again, Clegg said, “I did stop. . . . I didn’t
hear what you said.” Clegg followed up, “I did stop. I turned
around and faced you. I kept walking from you . . . [because] I just
lost everything I fucking own. Everything. They took my truck.
I’ve got nothing. Nothing.” 3

¶8 The State later charged Clegg with (1) failure to stop at the
command of an officer, a class A misdemeanor; (2) interference
with an arresting officer, a class B misdemeanor; and (3) being a
pedestrian improperly on a roadway, an infraction. The case went
to trial, where the State presented its case through testimony from
both officers as well as the body camera footage from Officer.
Clegg called no witnesses in his defense.

¶9 In the State’s closing, the prosecutor argued that for
purposes of the failure to stop charge, the jury could infer that
because Clegg walked away from the officers after being ordered
to stop, he fled for the purpose of avoiding arrest. Specifically, the
prosecutor said,

Now, again, I can’t prove directly that he did it for
the purpose of avoiding arrest, but let’s look at the
surrounding facts. As I stated, [Officer] turned on
his patrol lights, giving a verbal order to stop. And

3. This encounter was also recorded on Officer’s body camera, and
that recording was played at trial.

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State v. Clegg

the defendant knew that they were police officers
because he started yelling at them the second they
exited their vehicle.

You see in the video, he starts yelling about
how, you know, they took his home. Later, he says
in the video that the police took his motorhome
earlier that day. So the fact that he’s yelling that at
the officers indicates that he knows that they’re
officers. They were in their full uniform—they were
in their uniforms on that day. The police car with the
lights on was within view of the defendant. [Officer]
gave him multiple commands to stop walking and
to come here. And the defendant did not comply
with those commands. Therefore, the elements for
failure to stop at the command of a law enforcement
officer have been met.

In the defense’s closing, Clegg’s counsel argued that the State had
not proved the failure to stop charge because it “provided no
evidence” that Clegg fled for the purpose of avoiding arrest.

¶10 The jury found Clegg guilty of failing to stop at the
command of an officer as well as of being a pedestrian improperly
on a roadway, but the jury acquitted Clegg of interfering with an
arresting officer.

¶11 Before sentencing, Clegg filed a motion to arrest judgment
on the failure to stop charge. There, Clegg argued that the State
had failed to prove that he acted with the specific intent of
avoiding arrest. The district court denied Clegg’s motion,
concluding that “the jury was well within the bounds of reason[]
to infer Defendant’s mental state and that he purposefully turned

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State v. Clegg

away from the officers, ignoring their commands to stop for the
purpose of avoiding arrest.” Clegg now appeals that decision. 4

ISSUE AND STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶12 We review a district court’s denial of a motion to arrest
judgment for correctness. See State v. Stricklan, 2020 UT 65, ¶ 30,
477 P.3d 1251. When such a motion is based on an alleged
insufficiency of the evidence, the defendant must show that
“when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, no evidence
existed from which a reasonable jury could find beyond a
reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime.” Id.
(emphasis in original, quotation otherwise simplified); see also
State v. Raheem, 2024 UT App 29, ¶ 20, 546 P.3d 331 (“We will
uphold a denial of the motion to arrest judgment based on an
insufficiency of the evidence claim, if some evidence exists from
which a reasonable jury could find that the elements of the crime
had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.” (quotation
simplified)), cert. denied, 550 P.3d 997 (Utah 2024).

ANALYSIS

¶13 Clegg argues that the district court erred in denying his
motion to arrest judgment, asserting that the State failed to prove
that he acted with the “purpose of avoiding arrest.” We agree.5

4. Clegg does not appeal his conviction for being a pedestrian
improperly on a roadway.

5. Clegg also separately argues that his counsel provided
ineffective assistance by failing to ensure that the jury was
properly instructed on the mens rea requirement for this offense.
(continued…)

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State v. Clegg

¶14 Upon a defendant’s motion, a district court must “arrest
judgment if the facts proved or admitted do not constitute a public
offense.” Utah R. Crim. P. 23. When a motion to arrest judgment
is based on an alleged insufficiency of the evidence, the question
is “whether the jury’s verdict is reasonable in light of all of the
evidence taken cumulatively, under a standard of review that
yields deference to all reasonable inferences supporting the jury’s
verdict.” State v. Stricklan, 2020 UT 65, ¶ 114, 477 P.3d 1251
(quotation simplified). But there’s a difference between a
reasonable inference and speculation. See Salt Lake City v. Carrera,
2015 UT 73, ¶ 11, 358 P.3d 1067. “An inference is a conclusion
reached by considering other facts and deducing a logical
consequence from them,” whereas “speculation is the act or
practice of theorizing about matters over which there is no certain
knowledge at hand.” Id. ¶ 12 (quotation simplified). Thus, “the
difference between an inference and speculation depends on
whether the underlying facts support the conclusion.” Id.

¶15 To prove that Clegg failed to stop at the command of an
officer, the State was required to prove that Clegg (1) “[fled] from
or otherwise attempt[ed] to elude a peace officer,” (2) after the
officer had “issued a verbal or visual command to stop,” and (3)
that Clegg did so “for the purpose of avoiding arrest.” Utah Code
§ 76-8-305.5(2). 6

¶16 The third element is the only one at issue in this appeal,
and it functions as the intent element for this offense. Intent can

But given our resolution of Clegg’s first argument, we need not
address his second one.

6. The failure to stop statute has been amended and renumbered
since the events giving rise to this case, but because there were no
substantive changes to the elements in question, we cite the
current version for convenience.

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State v. Clegg

be—and often is—proved by circumstantial evidence. See
Stricklan, 2020 UT 65, ¶ 105; State v. Raheem, 2024 UT App 29, ¶ 25,
546 P.3d 331, cert. denied, 550 P.3d 997 (Utah 2024). This is so
because there’s rarely direct evidence of a defendant’s intent. See
Stricklan, 2020 UT 65, ¶ 105 (“Unless a confession is made by the
defendant concerning intent, or unless the court is somehow able
to open the mind of the defendant to examine his motivations,
intent is of necessity proven by circumstantial evidence.”
(quotation simplified)); Raheem, 2024 UT App 29, ¶ 25 (explaining
that intent “will almost always” be supported by circumstantial
evidence).

¶17 But this is the somewhat rare case in which there actually
is direct and contemporaneous evidence of the defendant’s intent.
As noted, the offense at issue allegedly occurred when Clegg did
not stop at Officer’s command. That interaction was caught on
Officer’s body camera, and that video shows that when Officer
ordered Clegg to stop, Clegg repeatedly and emphatically
responded that he was frustrated that his motorhome and truck
had been impounded earlier that day. In a conversation just a few
minutes later in the police vehicle, Clegg expressed surprise when
Officer told him that he was being arrested, asking, “For what?”
When Officer then asked Clegg why he didn’t stop when Officer
“told [him] to stop,” Clegg responded, “Because you just
impounded my vehicle, the cops did. Illegally.” Thus, there is
direct evidence in this record (obtained in the very moments in
question) showing that the reason Clegg did not stop was that he
was frustrated at law enforcement seizing his motorhome and
truck. But there is no direct evidence showing that Clegg instead
acted out of a desire to avoid arrest, which is the specific intent
that is required by the controlling statute.

¶18 We of course recognize that the jury wasn’t required to take
Clegg’s assertions at face value. As with other evidentiary
questions, the jury could conclude otherwise based on its

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State v. Clegg

assessment of the evidence before it, including circumstantial
evidence.

¶19 In denying Clegg’s motion to arrest judgment, the district
court seems to have concluded that the jury could find the
requisite intent simply because Clegg consciously ignored
Officer’s commands. In the court’s view, “the jury was well within
the bounds of reason[] to infer [Clegg’s] mental state and that he
purposefully turned away from the officers, ignoring their
commands to stop for the purpose of avoiding arrest.” But in a
past case, we held that “the statute implicitly requires the [State]
to present evidence supporting an inference that [the defendant]
thought he was at risk for arrest and was therefore motivated to
flee,” reasoning that without such a requirement, “the specific
intent element would be rendered largely superfluous.” Salt Lake
City v. Gallegos, 2015 UT App 78, ¶¶ 7–8, 347 P.3d 842; see also State
v. Young, 2015 UT App 286, ¶ 12, 364 P.3d 55. In light of this, we
then held that the State must present evidence “in addition to the
flight itself.” Gallegos, 2015 UT App 78, ¶ 7. This is so because,
“like mere presence at the scene of a crime, flight by itself is not
sufficient to establish guilt but is merely a circumstance to be
considered with other factors as tending to show a consciousness
of guilt and therefore guilt itself.” Id. (quotation simplified). 7

7. We recognize the possibility that the manner of flight may, in
some instances, arguably constitute separate evidence, apart from
the mere act of fleeing, sufficient to support a reasonable inference
that the defendant did have the requisite intent. For example, if a
defendant took extreme efforts in an attempt to get away from
officers (such as driving away at high speeds or leading officers
on an extended chase), perhaps this could support an inference
that the defendant thought that he or she was about to be arrested
and was thus fleeing to avoid arrest. But nothing like that
(continued…)

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State v. Clegg

¶20 In such cases, the circumstantial evidence that the State has
commonly pointed to was the defendant’s conduct at the time that
officers arrived. When presented with such arguments, we’ve
considered whether the conduct in question would support a
reasonable inference that the defendant thought that he or she
was in danger of being arrested—and, thus, whether the
defendant’s decision to flee was prompted by the intent to try
avoiding that arrest. In State v. Young, 2015 UT App 286, ¶ 7, 364
P.3d 55, for example, we held that because the defendant was
driving under the influence of alcohol, the jury could reasonably
infer that the defendant thought he was at risk for arrest and fled
in an attempt to avoid that arrest. By contrast, in a recent case, we
held that where the defendant was simply kayaking without a life
jacket, it would not be reasonable to infer from that conduct that
the defendant fled to avoid arrest. See State v. Nelson, 2024 UT App
75, ¶ 17 & n.4, 550 P.3d 495, cert. granted, 561 P.3d 688 (Utah Nov.
19, 2024) (No. 20240767). In another case, we similarly held that it
was not reasonable to infer that the defendant fled to avoid arrest
where the defendant was simply intoxicated in public. See
Gallegos, 2015 UT App 78, ¶ 11.

¶21 In this case, the State makes a similar offense-derived
argument, contending that when Clegg refused to stop at Officer’s
command, the jury could reasonably infer that Clegg was
motivated by the desire to avoid being arrested for the offense of
being a pedestrian improperly on a roadway.

¶22 In the briefs, the parties have vigorously disputed whether
Clegg was even committing this offense at the time in question.
That offense requires proof that a pedestrian “walk[ed] along or
on an adjacent roadway” where a “sidewalk [is] provided and its

occurred in this case. Clegg was on foot and didn’t run away, and
he was placed in handcuffs less than a minute after the officers
arrived.

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State v. Clegg

use is practicable”; failed to walk “on the shoulder, as far as
practicable from the edge of the roadway” where a “sidewalk is
not provided”; or failed to “walk as near as practicable to the
outside edge of the roadway” or “on the left side of the roadway
facing traffic” if “a sidewalk or a shoulder is not available.” Utah
Code § 41-6a-1009(1)–(3). In Clegg’s view, “there was no evidence
that a sidewalk existed,” and the evidence showed that he was
permissibly “walk[ing] on the shoulder of the road.” But in the
State’s view, Clegg violated this statute because he could have
walked on the nearby “pedestrian walkway”; alternatively, the
State contends that Clegg violated the law by walking too “close
to the edge of the roadway.”

¶23 We have no basis for concluding that Clegg did not commit
this offense. At the close of trial, the jury convicted Clegg of this
charge, and Clegg hasn’t argued on appeal that there was
insufficient evidence to support that conviction. But even so, and
even if we accept the premise that Clegg can be presumed to have
known the intricacies of this particular offense, we still recognize
that it may not have been obvious to Clegg at the time that he was
violating the law by either not walking on the nearby pathway or
instead by walking a touch too close to the road itself.

¶24 But more importantly, the offense in question in this appeal
isn’t the offense of walking on the wrong part of the road; rather,
what’s at issue is the offense of failing to stop at the command of
an officer. And again, that offense is not a strict liability offense,
but it instead requires proof that Clegg failed to stop “for the
purpose of avoiding arrest.” Id. § 76-8-305.5(2). And as indicated,
our past cases have interpreted that element—including, of note,
the legislature’s use of the word “arrest”—at face value.

¶25 The offense of improperly walking down a roadway is only
an infraction. See id. § 41-6a-1009(9)(a). While the State points out
that an officer can arrest someone for an infraction if it’s

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State v. Clegg

committed in the officer’s presence, see id. § 77-7-2, the question
here is whether it was reasonable to infer that Clegg didn’t stop
because he “thought he was at risk for arrest and was therefore
motivated to flee,” Gallegos, 2015 UT App 78, ¶ 7 (emphasis
added). On appeal, Clegg argues that as a matter of common
experience, officers do not ordinarily arrest people for mere
infractions unless prompted by something more. In Clegg’s view,
“a reasonable person would be more likely to expect to receive a
ticket.” That comports with our experience too, and it likewise
comports with the evidence presented in a recent case that also
involved an infraction. See Nelson, 2024 UT App 75, ¶ 17.

¶26 But we don’t see what the “something more” in this case
would be that would make an arrest for this infraction likely. No
one has claimed that Clegg had an outstanding warrant and might
have been motivated to flee for that reason. No one has claimed
that Clegg had just committed some other offense and might have
been worried that the officers would arrest him for that one. And
even as far as infractions go, Clegg could have reasonably
believed that this one was decidedly benign. Again, Clegg was
doing nothing more than walking down the road. Even if it were
true that he should have been walking on the nearby pathway or
instead closer to the edge of the road—indeed, even if it were true
that he had at one point been walking down the middle of this
road—it still strains credulity to suggest, as the State does in this
appeal, that Clegg had reason to think that he faced the realistic
possibility of being arrested for walking in the wrong part of the
road.

¶27 Indeed, the State’s own evidence suggests as much. One of
the officers later testified that he and his partner were sent to the
scene because of a potential “safety hazard,” which seems
different from a report of a “crime in progress” or something
similar. And to the extent that this was about safety (whether it be
of Clegg or other drivers), that concern would have been

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State v. Clegg

ameliorated once Clegg was no longer walking on that part of the
road, which seems a far cry from a situation naturally leading to
an arrest. Moreover, during the few moments in which Officer
spoke with Clegg before putting him in handcuffs, Officer didn’t
say anything about Clegg committing any offense or being subject
to arrest. And again, from Clegg’s conduct and subsequent
statements, it seems clear enough that Clegg didn’t think that he
was in any danger of being arrested for walking down the road.

¶28 In short, whether it was against the law for Clegg to be
walking where he was walking is one question. Whether there
was a realistic possibility that Clegg might be arrested for walking
where he was walking is another question. Whether Clegg
actually understood that there was a realistic possibility that he
might be arrested for this is yet another question. And whether
this understanding was the thing that motivated Clegg to ignore
Officer’s commands and keep walking is yet another question
still.

¶29 On these facts, we agree with Clegg that there was simply
no evidentiary support for a non-speculative and reasonable
inference that Clegg failed to stop for the specific purpose of
avoiding arrest. We therefore conclude that the district court erred
in denying Clegg’s motion to arrest judgment.

CONCLUSION

¶30 For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the district court’s
denial of Clegg’s motion to arrest judgment. We accordingly
vacate Clegg’s conviction for failing to stop at the command of an
officer.

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