UT - Stetson Hallam for attempting kidnapping, Provo, 2010

[Bartleby]

............................Why would it be a shame for him to have a felony conviction following him?

Same thought here. If the guy committed a felony, then why shouldn't he be convicted for it?

 

[LogicalMinds]

Oh hello......they are just thinking about banning him from campus??

he stun gunned this young woman....who knows what he had planned/? Thank God she got away...why isn't this being charged as a felony ??

What is wrong with this picture???

It is hoped that this character will quickly see reason and make his manners, so the charges can be busted down to a misdemeanor. He cannot be allowed to get off the hook altogether, since he actually assaulted this woman, but it would be a shame to have a felony conviction following him around his entire life."


That is absurd.....I am ......oh geeze....shut my mouth LOL

ridiculous

 

[mitzi]

Saturday, April 10, 2010
"When LDS Home Teachers Go Bad: BYU Student Stetson Hallam In Jail For Stunning And Cuffing 19-Year-Old Coed; It Was Just An April Fool's Joke
When men are called to become home teachers in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, they are encouraged to do more than fill a square. Church leaders encourage them to take a sincere interest in the families to which they're assigned, but to show respect for their time. More information on the LDS home teaching program is available on the LDS website and on MormonWiki. The separate Visiting Teaching program is run by the Relief Society and two sisters come each month to visit the women of a given home.

But one home teacher at Brigham Young University took his interest just a little too far. Stetson Hallam, a 20-year-old sophomore at BYU, was visiting an unidentified 19-year-old coed. It is unclear whether it was an official "home teaching" visit or a social visit. He had allegedly pursued the woman romantically, but she had no interest in him, considering him to be "creepy". In any event, Hallam allegedly pinned the woman to the ground and tried to handcuff her after incapacitating her with a stun gun on Tuesday April 6th at an apartment complex where both live. The victim reportedly bit down on Hallam's finger until he let her go and apologized, claiming it was all an April Fool's joke.

But the victim failed to find humor in the joke, and contacted police on April 8th. As a result, Hallam has now been persuaded to "accept a mission call" to preach the Gospel to the inmates of the Utah County Jail. He's been booked on third-degree felony charges of aggravated assault and attempted kidnapping and is being held on $5,000 bond. It is NOT an April Fool's joke.

What may really be concerning police is that, during Hallam's encounter with his victim, he repeatedly tried to get her to open a bin which was five feet long by two feet wide and three feet tall, with a lockable lid and handles. The victim finally opened the bin and found it empty. It was immediately afterward that Hallam produced the stun gun, so police are trying to find out if Hallam intended to stun her, put her into the bin, and kidnap her.

Carri Jenkins, spokeswoman for BYU, said she had little information about the incident Friday. However, she confirmed that Hallam is a sophomore at the university. She said the university's Honor Code Office will now begin its own review of the incident to determine what actions should be taken. If it is determined that a person is a danger to the community, he or she may be banned from campus, but Jenkins said she does not know what decision will be made in this case.

It is hoped that this character will quickly see reason and make his manners, so the charges can be busted down to a misdemeanor. He cannot be allowed to get off the hook altogether, since he actually assaulted this woman, but it would be a shame to have a felony conviction following him around his entire life."

http://mormonism-unveiled.blogspot.com/2010/04/when-lds-home-teachers-go-bad-byu.html


............................Why would it be a shame for him to have a felony conviction following him?

Bold mine.

Ummmm, duh...I don't think he was planning on using the lockable bin to store his clean laundry in. Geesh! So LE is trying to find this out?

 

[grayjay]

Bold mine.

Ummmm, duh...I don't think he was planning on using the lockable bin to store his clean laundry in. Geesh! So LE is trying to find this out?

He even insisted her fingerprints be on the bin, not his. This is not just a fart in the teller's tube.

They should be going through his entire belongings and his computers. What else besides a stun gun and handcuffs will they find?

If someone needs a trunk with a locking lid and carry handles, where do they find such a thing for sale?

 

[RayO]

He even insisted her fingerprints be on the bin, not his. This is not just a fart in the teller's tube.

They should be going through his entire belongings and his computers. What else besides a stun gun and handcuffs will they find?

If someone needs a trunk with a locking lid and carry handles, where do they find such a thing for sale?

I think such things are intended for storing tools. Construction workers and tradesmen carry expensive tools in their pickup truck bed or leave them overnight on a job site that hundreds of other workers might have access to. Not sure if Sears sells them, but where construction workers get tools or, of course, online:

http://www.toolboxesdirect.com/tool-boxes/job-site-tool-boxes/4364+4366+4293678925.cfm

 

[pinkpuddytat]

Why would it be a shame for him to have a felony conviction following him?

Notwithstanding the claim in the banner to be "pro-LDS", Mormonism-Unveiled is basically just an oddball's ramblings about things related the LDS Church. He describes himself as a "jack mormon", but immediately follows that with a description that's very nearly the opposite of the what the term is usually taken to mean. Usually it refers to people who are "culturally Mormon", who retain membership in the Church because they grew up in a Mormon family, and go through some of the motions of active participation for family/social reasons, but don't really believe it and routinely engage in prohibited activities (e.g. smoking, drinking), don't pay their tithing, don't have temple recommends, etc.

Lots of crazy pranking goes on at BYU (and in LDS young single adult circles in general), and if it hadn't been for the actual use of an actually-working stun gun, Hallam's claim that this incident was just a poorly conceived/executed "April Fool's joke" *might* have been plausible. However, the blog post appears to be a poor attempt at satire, making fun of Hallam's claim that it was just a joke, and I suspect the line about "it would be a shame to have a felony conviction following him around his entire life" is satirical, implying that Hallam himself would endorse this line of reasoning. Note that the post also contains the line "As a result, Hallam has now been persuaded to "accept a mission call" to preach the Gospel to the inmates of the Utah County Jail." -- satirically casting his arrest and imprisonment as a "mission call".

 

[pinkpuddytat]

Wow, their wedding was supposed to be last July. Either they never went through with it, (gee, I wonder why?) or he is a SUPER CREEP two-timing on his wife! Either way, it gives me shivers.

He can't be married, because he is assigned as a home teacher for a single female student in a BYU student ward. In a regular LDS ward, a married man could be assigned as one of the two home teachers for a single woman, but BYU student wards are split up between young single adult wards and married student wards. When somebody gets married, they are immediately transferred to a married student ward.

Presumably this planned wedding never occurred. If you go to the Bed Bath & Beyond registry link, only a handful of the items were ever purchased. It's also possible, given that we know Hallam is a nutcase, that he never was really engaged to Stephanie, and just put stuff out on the internet to make it appear he was, either as a prelude to actually proposing to her, or to scam family and friends into thinking he was really engaged.

 

[reen]

"...see reason and make his manners"???!? What the heck kind of statement is THAT? He committed a violent crime, of course he should face punishment. "Busted down to a misdemeanor?" This doesn't sound like the church covering for its own...nope, not at all. If it was, I would be shocked...SHOCKED, I tell you, as that has never ever happened before.

/sarcasm

 

[TGIRecovered]

He even insisted her fingerprints be on the bin, not his. This is not just a fart in the teller's tube.

They should be going through his entire belongings and his computers. What else besides a stun gun and handcuffs will they find?

If someone needs a trunk with a locking lid and carry handles, where do they find such a thing for sale?

Just call the dude with his pic on the refrigerator magnet. He'll hook you up, (and he could use the $)!

 

[sweetheart29]

Walmart sells them. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=13949785&findingMethod=rr&#ProductDetail

 

[pinkpuddytat]

Why would a single man be assigned to a single woman as her HOME teacher? Or a man to a woman for that matter? To find this within the context of Mormonism really surprises me. Biblical wisdom in general would dissuade this, and I would think the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints would strictly prohibit it.

Did I read in one of the previous posts here that he has been reassigned? The box designed to her measurements, obviously intended for transport (and/or other atrocities) after waylaying her isn't a sufficient reason for severe disciplinary action and investigation by the Church? Where's the outrage—besides here at WS? :furious:

KeenEyes, LDS home teachers are *always* assigned in pairs. One pair of home teachers has a list of people they are supposed to teach. Home teachers are always males, because it's a priesthood function, and the LDS priesthood is male-only. There's a similar program where pairs of women called a "visiting teachers" have a list of women (married and/or single) that they visit with a message each month. At BYU, all the students are assigned to a students-only ward (congregation). There are singles wards and married student wards, and home teachers (not just at BYU wards, but all types of LDS wards) are always from the same ward as those they teach -- it's part of the process of community-building within a ward). So at BYU, single women, would always have *pairs* of single male home teachers from their ward. The single female students generally live in shared housing with other single female students, so single women who share an apartment would presumably have the same home teachers, and the home teaching visits would entail the *pair* of home teachers visiting two or more single female students at the same time. The solo visit to this young woman when she was home by herself was definitely way, way outside his function as her home teacher, even before he broke out the stun gun and handcuffs.

I don't know where you heard that Hallam had been "reassigned". He certainly hasn't been "reassigned" to any ward calling, as home teacher or anything else that would give him access to a ward member's home. I read that he's out on bail now, and if he's allowed to attend his ward at all and given any sort of new calling (since he certainly won't be allowed to serve as a home teacher any more), I expect it would be along the lines of mopping floors and taking out the trash at the ward building (with supervision!).

 

[pinkpuddytat]

I found this interesting (though obviously unverified) post from someone purporting to be a relative of Mr. Hallam's, in the comments section to an article in the (Provo) Daily Herald:

lovebug20 said on: April 12, 2010, 11:00 am
I am a family member of Stetson as embarrassing and ashameful as that is. He was "serving a mission" as a helper in the family search center because he was not fit to go out on the field. He has a criminal record that wasn't recorded because he was a minor but he molested our other cousin many times and got a slap on the hand for it. I hope that he does his time and that the poor girl is okay.
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/loc...6-a443-887f1d5ee905.html?mode=comments&page=1

This is essentially in response to the many questions that have been posted on various news sites' comment sections, as to how this young man could have been a 20 year old sophomore attending BYU. Normally, all LDS young men who are in good standing with the Church (and official good standing would be a prerequisite to remain enrolled at BYU and to be assigned as a home teacher) leave to serve a two year mission at age 19. So the species "20 year old sophomore" basically doesn't exist at BYU, except for students with medical or other disabilities that preclude serving a normal mission.

Assuming the above post is legitimate, it would appear that Hallam's priesthood leaders were aware that he had some of past issues and was not going to be allowed to serve a mission. Not clear how *much* they would have known beyond that, given the sealing of juvenile criminal records and our utterly insane medical privacy laws in this country that prevent people like school administrators and employers from finding out about someone's psychiatric conditions and prescribed treatment (and of course whether they are participating in therapy and/or taking medication, as prescribed). If he hadn't been in any trouble with the law, or in connection with church or BYU activities since turning 18, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable for them to assign him as one of a pair of home teachers, especially if they weren't aware of the exact nature of the past issues that made him ineligible for a mission.

 

[RayO]

Presumably this planned wedding never occurred. If you go to the Bed Bath & Beyond registry link, only a handful of the items were ever purchased. It's also possible, given that we know Hallam is a nutcase, that he never was really engaged to Stephanie, and just put stuff out on the internet to make it appear he was, either as a prelude to actually proposing to her, or to scam family and friends into thinking he was really engaged.

I was able to find corroboration that the listed bride-to-be had once been engaged and is still single, no longer engaged, so that was not a prank.

 

[RayO]

I found this interesting (though obviously unverified) post from someone purporting to be a relative of Mr. Hallam's, in the comments section to an article in the (Provo) Daily Herald:

lovebug20 said on: April 12, 2010, 11:00 am
I am a family member of Stetson as embarrassing and ashameful as that is. He was "serving a mission" as a helper in the family search center because he was not fit to go out on the field. He has a criminal record that wasn't recorded because he was a minor but he molested our other cousin many times and got a slap on the hand for it. I hope that he does his time and that the poor girl is okay.
http://www.heraldextra.com/news/loc...6-a443-887f1d5ee905.html?mode=comments&page=1

Assuming the above post is legitimate, it would appear that Hallam's priesthood leaders were aware that he had some of past issues and was not going to be allowed to serve a mission. Not clear how *much* they would have known beyond that, given the sealing of juvenile criminal records and our utterly insane medical privacy laws in this country that prevent people like school administrators and employers from finding out about someone's psychiatric conditions and prescribed treatment (and of course whether they are participating in therapy and/or taking medication, as prescribed). If he hadn't been in any trouble with the law, or in connection with church or BYU activities since turning 18, it wouldn't be totally unreasonable for them to assign him as one of a pair of home teachers, especially if they weren't aware of the exact nature of the past issues that made him ineligible for a mission.

Still a bit stunning that they knew enough to know he was not "worthy" to go on a mission, but they could trust him to do that home teaching, albeit, its supposed to be done in pairs.

 

[montana_16]

If dude got that girl in that container and took her and did whatever he was going to do to her we would have another missing, dead girl. She could identify him so I'm sure she would be killed.

This guy is extremely dangerous. $5000 bail? It should be way more than that.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

If dude got that girl in that container and took her and did whatever he was going to do to her we would have another missing, dead girl. She could identify him so I'm sure she would be killed.

This guy is extremely dangerous. $5000 bail? It should be way more than that.

Hopefully they've got some serious restrictions on his movements. He's definitely way too unstable to be considered safe to roam free.

 

[pinkpuddytat]

Still a bit stunning that they knew enough to know he was not "worthy" to go on a mission, but they could trust him to do that home teaching, albeit, its supposed to be done in pairs.

Hard to say how much they knew, though. If he'd sonfessed to a bishop at age 17 or 18 that he'd had sex with his girlfriend (consensually) or masturbated or watched porn, that could get him deemed "unworthy" to go on a mission, at least at the normal age of 19 (since it would be to soon after the "transgression"), and his next bishop might not know that there was also another big reason. Given that juvenile records are sealed, it's possible they didn't really know a whole lot, or maybe knew rumors but nothing that could be confirmed. I would assume he's also been in some sort of psychotherapy if he did indeed molest a young relative, so it's also possible that his priesthood leaders only knew that he was under psychiatric care, and that the psychiatrist wasn't willing to declare him "medically" fit to go on a mission.

I have a feeling we'll never get to the bottom of this story. BYU and the Church are squelching it hard. There was a brief follow-up story in the BYU newspaper which omitted his name! http://universe.byu.edu/node/7884

 

[DomCasual]

Still a bit stunning that they knew enough to know he was not "worthy" to go on a mission, but they could trust him to do that home teaching, albeit, its supposed to be done in pairs.

Is that really the best word for this, Ray?

I kid.

 

[Vegas Bride]

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/sl...ife-in-prison-for/PfqvLWv0P06BE_afDeGkGQ.cspx

New article saying he can be facing life in prison if convicted.

I'm so glad it's looking like he won't be able to squirm his way out of this, I really have no doubt his victim would have lost her life if his plan had worked, I do have to wonder if there have been other victims!

VB

 

[RayO]

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/sl...ife-in-prison-for/PfqvLWv0P06BE_afDeGkGQ.cspx

New article saying he can be facing life in prison if convicted.

I'm so glad it's looking like he won't be able to squirm his way out of this, I really have no doubt his victim would have lost her life if his plan had worked, I do have to wonder if there have been other victims!

VB

The arraignment was Friday. Apparently no change in bail, so he's still a free man. Separately he was dismissed from BYU and banned from campus.

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/article_0e972a84-fb31-5774-aea1-0cea62b557ba.html