Seeking stronger tools to prosecute gang members for recruiting minors, the Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office made its case to state lawmakers for tougher penalties last year.
The Utah Legislature listened, raising the severity of the offense from a misdemeanor to a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Now Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill says his office is putting that new law to use for the first time.
Gill announced Wednesday that he’s filed formal charges of soliciting, recruiting or intimidating a minor to join a gang against three men. The cases follow a long-running investigation conducted by the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office focused on a Utah gang’s efforts to bring in younger members, Gill said…