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Basin Resident Reaches Plea Deal After Partying With Teens

A Basin resident agreed to a plea in abeyance in Third District Court on Monday. This happened about six-months after he was charged with dispensing marijuana to teenagers at a party. The county also alleged that 45-year-old Adam David Childers instructed, or threatened, some of the group to conceal the crime from police.

The prosecution alleged that in December, Childers hosted a party in his Trailside-area residence, including six youngsters, who were 14 or 15 years old. The charges say he provided marijuana and encouraged the teens to smoke it.

In January, after a police investigation began, the county said that in recordings Childers is heard telling four of the teens to "deny, deny, deny" that they were given drugs.

Under the agreement Monday, Childers plead to seven of the charges. Three counts of Distribution or Arranging to Distribute a Controlled Substance, three counts of Tampering with a Witness, and one Count of Obstructing Justice.

The counts are all Felonies, but if Childers meets the conditions of the plea agreement, they will be reduced to Misdemeanors.

In return, the county is dismissing ten other counts of Distribution, Tampering, or Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. 

His defense attorney Greg Skordas said they came to an agreement on Monday.

"We've been working towards an agreement on this matter for several months. The County Attorney and I spoke on Friday and decided that it was probably a good time to enter in to this plea abeyance arrangement." Skordas said "The devil's always in the details and we were working out some things, but we finally got those all shored up on Monday morning."

The case has been scheduled for a trial. But last Thursday Childers 2was arrested according to County Attorney Margaret Olson. The county filed a motion to revoke his pre-trial release status.

According ot the motion from prosecutor Blake Hills, the defendant was ordered to undergo random drug testing. On July 5th, he tested positive for methamphetamine, amphetamine, and benzodiazepine. The same day a search warrant led to syringes being found in his residence. The defendant admitted he had used meth and was struggling with addiction.

Skordas said the county's action was not a factor in the plea agreement.

"The county decision to try to revoke his release was not a factor, and in fact he is now released. Everything that is going on in this case was fluid and we were working together, and it finally just coalesced into an agreement on Monday" 

The plea document on Monday ordered that Childers would be released from the county jail, and would transfer to the Brighton Recovery Center, in the Ogden area.

Childers is scheduled to be sentenced on October 15th. Skordas said in the meantime, he will be expected to follow conditions of the plea in abeyance.

"It requires him to comply with several conditions that are very critical, and very important. We have every reason to believe he'll do that; and I think the state does too or they wouldn't have made this plea arrangement."

Known for getting all the facts right, as well as his distinctive sign-off, Rick covered Summit County meetings and issues for 35 years on KPCW. He now heads the Friday Film Review team.
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