LAYTON CITY PROSECUTOR DENIES HANDLING BOTH CASES
By: Sachet A. Sullivan
Bevan Wayne Cox, owner of Retro Fitness, was the subject of a drug raid in early January that temporarily closed his gym for several hours.
Authorities left the gym empty-handed, and Cox was not arrested on any charges, though he was taken to the jail in a patrol vehicle under the belief that he had violated a protection order.
After police consulted with the Iron County Attorney’s Office, they discovered Cox had not violated any terms of the civil protection order believed to be in place and he was driven back to the gym and released.
Shortly after Cox left the jail, the Iron County Attorney’s Office filed a motion for pretrial detention and requested a warrant for his arrest, asking that he be held until his 2023 charges were resolved. The office denied any connection between the raid and his detention.
While investigators were conducting the raid at the gym, they learned that a confidential informant involved in the investigation had allegedly tipped off gym staff about the ongoing probe. The informant was later charged with a third-degree felony for obstruction of justice.
The raid was largely prompted by allegations from an ex-girlfriend who reportedly had Cox arrested for domestic violence allegations on New Year’s Day in Layton City.
According to court records filed in 5th District Court, after the Layton arrest, the ex-girlfriend reportedly contacted Cox’s ex-wife and told her about the incident and subsequent arrest. The ex-wife then reportedly went to the Cedar City Police Department and told law enforcement that Cox violated a protection order related to the 2023 case when he was arrested in Layton. There are conflicting accounts on whether the protection order was still in effect at the time the ex-wife went to law enforcement.
In a memorandum filed by Cox’ attorney Jack Burns, he attributed the allegations to that of a scorned girlfriend, alleging the woman threatened to accuse Cox’ of everything his ex-wife did after he attempted to end the relationship.
In a new development, the ex-girlfriend was recently arrested on domestic violence allegations involving her ex-husband on February 27th. According to a five-sentence affidavit filed by the Layton Police Department in 2nd District Court, Jessica Lynn Bennion allegedly struck her ex-husband multiple times during a verbal altercation while he was driving. The report states she hit him twice on the right side of his face, then reportedly struck him again with a closed fist on the left side.
“I saw marks on the victims face and a small cut on his left ear that correspond to his story” the affidavit states.
The court documents further state that in a call between police and Bennion, she reportedly admitted to slapping her ex-husband twice but denied hitting him again.
Bennion was arrested for simple assault and booked into the Davis County Jail. A plea agreement was reached within three days in a swift resolution negotiated by the same prosecutor reportedly handling Cox’ charges in Layton. Although the prosecutor denied any involvement in Cox case during a recent interview with TZT, court records show he remained the lead prosecutor until Feb. 20—the date of the last filing bearing his signature block. That timing closely aligns with Bennion’s arrest and the resolution of her case, in which the assault charge was reduced to disorderly conduct. Because Cox case is still awaiting a preliminary hearing in late April, there haven’t been any recent filings to indicate a change in prosecutors, but the Utah Court Website still shows him as the lead prosecutor on the case.
As part of the deal, Bennion was sentenced to 12 months of probation, a $300 fine, anger management classes, and ordered to undergo a substance abuse evaluation with any recommended treatment.
It remains unclear why Bennion was not also charged with domestic violence following the altercation with her ex-husband.
In an interview with TZT, City Prosecutor C. Markley Arrington, who reportedly is assigned to both cases, was asked why Bennion’s case was resolved so quickly and whether it was connected to the Cox case. Arrington denied any knowledge of Cox’s Layton case and said, “he was not assigned to the Cox matter”, despite multiple court filings listing him as the prosecutor of record.
When asked why Bennion’s case was resolved so quickly, Arrington said the plea deal was negotiated during arraignment and denied any connection to Cox case. He did not directly address why Bennion was not charged with domestic violence but suggested it may have been because she was a first-time offender. However, that reasoning appears inconsistent with Utah state law, which defines “domestic violence” as any criminal offense involving violence or physical harm, or the threat of such harm, when committed by one cohabitant against another. According to Utah Code § 78B-7-102, a “cohabitant” includes individuals who are or were spouses, lived as spouses, had children in common, or were in a consensual sexual relationship.
Bennion and her ex-husband both declined to comment when contacted by TZT.
Leave a Reply