The 1996 rape of a mall store clerk in Ogden has been connected to a now-39-year-old man who was serving a sentence for sexual battery in the Mississippi State Prison at the time he was charged in November 2010. Deon J. Lucero recently made his first court appearance in Utah, where he has been charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping.
The Story Surrounding the Rape
Photo: Wouter Verhelst
According to court documents, in 1996 Lucero walked into the store where the victim was a clerk, pulled a knife and demanded money. After giving him money from the cash register, it is alleged that Lucero then forced the victim to a back room where he made her take off her clothes and raped her. DNA was collected at the time of the rape, but no one was arrested for the crime until now. Last year, the DNA from the 1996 crime scene was matched to DNA collected from a 2007 sample from a convicted offender serving time in Mississippi.
First-Degree Felonies
Aggravated robbery, aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping are each first-degree felonies. The potential penalties, particularly for aggravated sexual assault and aggravated kidnapping, can vary depending on whether or not the defendant was previously convicted of a grievous sexual offense. A first-degree felony is generally punishable by at least five years in prison, but that may differ based on the statute concerning a particular crime.
Offenses Without A Statute of Limitation
There are offenses for which prosecution by the state may be commenced at any time, regardless of the length of time that has passed since the actual commission of the crime:
• capital felony
• aggravated murder
• murder
• manslaughter
• child abuse homicide
• aggravated kidnapping
• child kidnapping
• rape
• rape of a child
• object rape
• object rape of a child
• forcible sodomy
• sodomy on a child
• sexual abuse of a child
• aggravated sexual abuse of a child
• aggravate sexual assault
If you have questions about the statute of limitation on a crime, don’t hesitate to contact an attorney. In the case mentioned earlier, multiple elements of the crime fall under the statute where there is no time limitation, so the person who committed the crime-who may or may not be the man accused-can be tried at any time.
When you have concerns about a legal matter, it is prudent to discuss them with a Utah criminal defense attorney. Let him apprise you of your rights and give you advice on how to handle the situation. You needn’t wait until you are being investigated or arrested for a crime to hire an attorney.
