By ROBERT S. MERRILL
Assistant editor
Three Franklin County residents associated with a recent crime spree in Idaho and Utah are still incarcerated and local court proceedings have begun again.
Franklin County prosecutor Todd Garbett said court actions for Hector Diaz, 20, of Franklin, and Jose Padilla, 18, of Preston, were put on hold recently pending a grand jury hearing in federal court in Pocatello.
“We just found out that at the last second officials at the federal court level decided not to pursue the grand jury route. They apparently felt pending cases in Utah were too far advanced and told both us and Cache County to pursue prosecution at the state level. So that’s what we’re doing.
“We have our next court date in Franklin County on Thursday, March 8, and it is called ‘further proceedings.’ We will determine at that point if we go to trial or if the individuals will plead,” said Garbett.
Diaz waived a preliminary hearing on Dec. 2, and was bound over to district court on three felony grand theft charges, according to Garbett.
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