For Immediate Release
October 21, 2013
The Utah Attorney General’s Office is fighting the appeal of a man who fatally shot one man and seriously injured two women during a dispute over a $180 drug deal. Jason Clark was ordered to serve 80 years to life in prison after he was convicted of eight first- degree felonies, including aggravated murder and attempted aggravated murder.
On April 29, 2007, Clark fatally shot Kevin Brent Kone in the head and in the back at a South Salt Lake house for disrespecting his girlfriend over a drug deal. He shot Audra Snider-Gerdin seven times and Debra Lindner eight times to teach them a lesson. Snider-Gerdin’s service dog, Chloe, was also killed in the gunfire.
In his appeal to the Utah Court of Appeals, Clark argues his convictions should be thrown out. His attorney makes several challenges including the reliability of the testimony from eyewitnesses, whether the trial judge properly excluded a defense firearms expert and whether jurors should have heard evidence Clark used the murder weapon in a shooting seven weeks earlier.
Assistant Attorney General Christopher Ballard will argue the trial judge correctly ruled the victims’ eyewitness testimony should be admitted. He will also argue the testimony from the defense firearm expert was insignificant because he was unqualified and Clark had agreed with the prosecution expert that the murder weapon was the same gun Clark had used in a previous shooting.
Who: Assistant Attorney General Christopher Ballard
What: Oral arguments on apppealof State v. Jason Clark
When: 9:30 a.m., Friday, October 25, 2013
Where: Utah Court of Appeals, 450 S. State, Matheson Courthouse, Salt Lake City
Photo: Prison photo of Clark can be found below
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