SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The attorney for a 15-year-old boy filed a motion requesting a juvenile court judge to disqualify the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office from the case on the heels of a 2News Investigation. Attorney Nathan Evershed motioned Juvenile Court Judge David Johnson to disqualify the entire office, including District Attorney Sim Gill, for alleged prosecutorial misconduct citing it has an "incredible conflict of interest in this case." A virtual court hearing was held today, where both sides presented arguments, after filing motions, but Judge Johnson said he would take it under advisement and issue a ruling on the motion within 30 days. What’s more, 2News Investigates exposed for the first time evidence that the prosecutor who was assigned to the case after Adrianna Davis was removed, made an admission to the whistleblower who came forward to Chief Investigative Reporter Wendy Halloran last month, that the teen should not have been charged with murder to begin with. In March, 2New Investigates exposed allegations of an inappropriate relationship between Adrianna Davis, the prosecutor who charged Emiliano with murder in a self-defense case and West Valley City Police Detective Josue Llil who was a key detective on the case. Emiliano nor his first attorney, Tom Weber, knew about this before he took a plea deal for manslaughter and was sentenced to ten years in juvenile prison. On August 17, 2023, at Scottsdale Park in West Valley City, Emiliano was robbed at gunpoint by 24-year-old Niusami Auelua, an AP&P probation fugitive who had extremely high levels of methamphetamine in his system. Emiliano defended himself by stabbing Auelua. Auelua was fleeing the park after robbing Emiliano of his backpack when he collapsed and died. Four days later, West Valley City Police Detective Jeff Nelson wrote that he screened the case with the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office. He wrote that he presented the case to them, provided details of the case and answered questions from the attorneys. But the attorneys requested further follow-up due to the self-defense aspect of the case. However, six months later, Deputy District Attorney Adrianna Davis filed an “Information” charging Emiliano with first-degree murder and on that same day, amended the information filing on the murder charge. Davis filed the case with the intent to transfer to adult court and prosecute the then 14-year-old as an adult. Evershed told Judge Johnson, “Nothing was disclosed to this kid.” In his motion he wrote, "The Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office has an incredible conflict of interest in this case. The essential basis for this claim is that the office, especially the administrators of the DA's Office, were involved in a scheme where exculpatory and/or impeachable evidence regarding one of their own prosecutors, Adrianna Davis, and her inappropriate relationship with a key detective in this case, was deliberately not disclosed to defense counsel. Even after another prosecutor inside their office, Meghann Mills, an experienced Juvenile Team Supervisor, repeatedly told them about this major problem. Additionally, in addition to not disclosing this improper relationship between the filing prosecutor and a key detective in the case, even more evidence was not disclosed to Emiliano, which included interviews, images, diagrams, among other items. Every single top administrator in the DA's Office became aware of the inappropriate relationship between the filing prosecutor and key detective in the case, including the DA himself." In fact, the day after the 2News Investigation exposed the alleged inappropriate relationship between Adrianna Davis and Det. Josue Llil, DA Gill sent an email to his staff, citing the KUTV 2 News report, expressing he is deeply disappointed former prosecutors from his office, which includes Nathan Evershed, chose to "inject lurid and irrelevant accusations into court records and media narratives about the private lives of our employees." Gill also wrote, "The discovery rules in criminal procedure and relevant case law exist to safeguard defendants' due process rights; they do not justify a salacious shell game of spreading unsubstantiated rumors or engaging in character attacks unrelated to the case evidence. It is unfortunate that former colleagues chose sensationalism as a tactic to divert public attention away from the serious nature of this crime." He ended his email writing, "Specifically, we will continue to defend the actions of our attorneys and this office when attacked by unsupported allegations." Evershed told Judge Johnson that email, “Which informed the entire office about his specific feeling about this case, about the people involved in this case, in case people weren't clear enough. Everybody has a private conflict that's here." Additionally, he added, “The fact that the DA's office removed Adrianna Davis here from this case in about May 2024 is an admission that they knew this was a problem.” Chief Deputy District Attorney Bridget Romano wrote in the State’s response to the motion to disqualify: “Here Emiliano alleges Deputy District Attorney Adrianna Davis intentionally turned a blind eye to the potential he acted out of self-defense because she had more pressing concern: impressing a supposed paramour.” Romano argued during the hearing, “Whether an individual in the District Attorney's Office was having a romantic affair, an emotional relationship or an actual relationship with a detective creates some mystery and intrigue, but it doesn't create the conflict that would require disqualifying the office.” In the State’s response to the Motion to Disqualify, Romano wrote: “Emiliano attempts to now use DA Gill’s response to a situation where Emiliano and Meghann Mills created or are at least complicit to sow the seeds of a conflict warranting disqualification smacks of bad faith.” She said, “It may ultimately be impeachment evidence if Mr. Llil or Ms. Davis potentially would be called to testify - I don't see why Ms. Davis would ever be called to testify what she thought or what she believed is irrelevant.” Romano then stated her displeasure with whistleblower Meghann Mills who resigned in December 2024 after she says, and a paper trail shows DA Gill, and his administrators covered it up. Romano said, “Instead, she took the information to Mr. Evershed.” That comment elicited a strong rebuke from Evershed. He told Judge Johnson, “Ms. Mills went to people inside that office for months and was essentially gaslighted for months and treated like she was crazy with all the evidence she had.” Emails document the lengths Mills went to and gave Gill and his administrators the text messages between her and Davis which shows the alleged inappropriate relationship in detail. To that end, Evershed said about the DA’s administration, “They never contest exactly what's in the text messages - they never contest the authenticity of them, or you know these emails they just make claims - well insufficient evidence.” Evershed said, “Really insufficient evidence - how in the world can that claim be made.” What's more, Evershed told Judge Johnson it's all there in black and white and nobody contests the authenticity of any of the text messages. He added, "And not only is that happening, that relationship happening, which is spelled out in text messages, but she's so involved in this case your honor, she literally sits in for the interview in January with Emiliano himself. That's how involved she is. And then the next month this is presented, she's there, she's present, Ms. Mills is not by the way, and now this whole case is now charged with murder." Evershed has asked Judge Johnson to schedule an evidentiary hearing where he will subpoena DA Gill, his Chief Justice Deputy District Attorneys Jeff Hall and Anna Rossi Anderson, and other administrators to testify under oath. This also includes Josh Graves; the prosecutor who was assigned Emiliano’s case after Davis was removed and prosecuted Emiliano for murder as well as West Valley City Police Detective Josue Llil. Additionally, subpoena whistleblower Meghann Mills and anyone else who handled this case to testify under oath. Regarding Evershed’s request for an evidentiary hearing, Romano said, “Requiring DDA Davis, Chief Justice Deputy District Attorneys Jeff Hall or Anna Rossi Anderson to appear in court to testify to decisions they reached or actions they took will satisfy only one thing: Mr. Emiliano *******’s curiosity and prurient need to know. There exists no genuine need for this information nor a basis to upend DDA Davis's reputation or right to privacy solely to satisfy Mr. *******’s subjective wants. And perhaps more than any other, this request has all the trappings of a fishing expedition.” And for the first time 2News Investigates revealed evidence showing prosecutor Josh Graves who was assigned to the case after Davis was removed, made an admission to Mills before she resigned in December 2024 that was an unsettling remark for Mills and Evershed. Graves wrote in an email to Mills dated Monday December 9, 2024, at 1:32 pm, “I agree that it should not have been filed as murder. Once I had the case, I never intended to set it for a transfer, either after looking into it further.”
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