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A Utah man accused of fatally shooting a convenience store clerk after an argument over cigarettes will stand trial on a murder charge, a state judge ruled Tuesday.
Anthony William Cline is charged in 3rd District Court with one count of first-degree felony murder in the Nov. 2, 2014, slaying of Jamie Blalack, who was working an overnight shift at a Salt Lake City 7-Eleven.
At a hearing Tuesday, 3rd District Judge Vernice Trease ruled prosecutors had sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.
Cline, 30, is scheduled for a March 30 arraignment before Judge Paul Parker, where he is expected to enter a plea. If convicted of the murder charge, Cline could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Court papers say the 29-year-old Blalack asked Cline to leave the California Avenue convenience store after a verbal dispute. Prosecutors allege Cline fired a shot as he was leaving the business and a bullet struck Blalack in the head. Police found the clerk dead behind the store's counter.
Charging documents also say Cline later told investigators he had been at the store and had fired a silver 1911 model .45-caliber handgun as he was leaving.
A search of the Davis County motel room where Cline was arrested yielded the handgun, court papers say.