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A 32-year-man has been ordered to stand trial for fatally beating and kicking his roommate outside a Cedar City apartment complex in 2013.
Brandon Thomas Sappington is charged with second-degree felony aggravated assault, two third-degree felony counts of assault by a prisoner and class B misdemeanor interference with arresting officer in connection with the Oct. 9, 2013, attack on 59-year-old Bryan Mahue Mellor, of Cedar City.
Mellor died at a Las Vegas hospital three days later.
Following a Thursday preliminary hearing, 5th District Judge Keith Barnes found there was enough evidence to advance the case to trial.
An arraignment hearing is set for July 28.
The case has been on hold since November 2013, when Sappington's defense attorney raised concerns that the defendant might not be competent to stand trial due to mental illness, according to court documents.
Based on evaluations from doctors at the Utah State Hospital, Barnes in March deemed Sappington competent to proceed.
At about 8 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2013, Cedar City police were dispatched to an apartment complex at 468 S. 75 West on a report of an assault in progress.
When officers arrived, Sappington approached and they noticed blood on his hand and ordered him to stop. Instead, Sappington allegedly ignored their commands and attempted to kick and head-butt the officers before they arrested him.
Medical personnel reported that Mellor had suffered multiple skull fractures and bleeding in the brain as a result of the assault, according to a probable cause statement.
Police said Sappington was living "clandestinely" with Mellor, and that the Cedar City Housing Authority did not approve the pair residing together.
It wasn't clear what precipitated the assault, but witnesses told police they saw Sappington kicking Mellor in the head into a tubular steel railing, and also "stomping" and "jumping" on the victim's head and torso, the probable cause statement says.
Police said they saw "footwear impressions" visible on Mellor's chest and stomach when medical personnel was attempting to save his life.