By Shannon K. Johnson

April 9, 2007 | LOGAN -- Smithfield dentist Matthew O. Lyman was bound over to face trial April 29 at his preliminary hearing Friday in 1st District Court.

The charges brought before the court are two counts of forcible sexual abuse, one count of possession of a controlled substance, and one count of possession of a firearm by a restricted person. All are felonies.

Immediately after the preliminary trail the court conducted an arraignment, in which Lyman entered a plea of not guilty.

Lyman is a dentist in Logan, and the allegations, according to witness testimony and police reports, are that he molested a patient while she was under anesthesia.

According to testimony, the police had been investigating the complaint when it was reported by the victim, but they did not have sufficient evidence and could not obtain a warrant to help with their investigation.

But on the day of the arrest, a detective went to the hospital to retrieve Lyman, who had been admitted with Oxycodone, a drug intended for pain relief. Lyman a 9mm Glock handgun. The effects of Oxycodone are similar to that of morphine or heroin; this incident added the charges of firearm and possession of a controlled substance.

The police officers then had an opportunity to interrogate Lyman.

The most contested charge was the possession of a dangerous weapon with a controlled substance. In the law it prevents dangerous people, such as those under the influence of drugs, from being in possession of a firearm.

During the hearing, prosecutor Barbara K. Lachmar called the detective who had been investigating the case since the initial complaint months earlier.

He was the officer who conducted the interrogation, in which the accused is said to have written a letter of apology to the victim and confessed.

The witnesses presented by the prosecutor were cross examined by Walter F. Bugden from Salt Lake. Bugden had mismatched socks and a pink bow-tie. He and his partner, Tara I. Isaacson, are well known for their work with Warren Jeffs.

Isaacson conducted the closing arguments, saying, "We realize that the lowest burden of proof must be met for this hearing, but the state has failed to do that on count three.

"If the gun was in his car and the drugs found in the backpack in his office, then he never possessed the weapon while under the influence of Oxycodone."

MS
MS