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A 3rd District Juvenile Court judge has ordered prosecutors to provide more evidence to a 15-year-old defendant charged in the death last year of West Valley City police Officer Cody Brotherson.

The order Wednesday by Judge Kimberly Hornak was in response to a motion from defense attorney David L. Johnson, who represents one of three teenagers, all of whom have been charged with murder and other crimes.

Brotherson, 25, was killed on Nov. 6, when he was struck by a vehicle believed to be stolen while he was laying down a set of spike strips.

Two brothers, ages 14 and 15, and another 15-year-old boy, were in the car, court documents allege.

The 15-year-old sibling was in court on Wednesday. A motion hearing for the other two defendants is scheduled for Friday.

Each of the boys has been charged with first-degree felony murder, along with first-degree felony theft for allegedly stealing the vehicle that struck Brotherson.

The Tribune generally does not name juvenile defendants unless they have been certified to stand trial as adults.

Which one of the defendants was driving the car remains a key issue in the case.

The charging documents do not say who was behind the wheel at the time of the crash. Police have remained tight-lipped about the investigation, and prosecutors have refused to comment on the case because it involves juveniles.

However, the youngest boy told police that they had stolen the car, according to an affidavit, and that it was his 15-year-old friend who was driving, while he and his brother were passengers.

The other defendants had said a fourth party was driving — a story they later recanted.

"Only one was driving the car," the judge said Wednesday. "Is the defense asking for evidence that they weren't driving?" she asked defense counsel Johnson.

And to the prosecutor, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sandi Johnson, Hornak asked, "Shouldn't [the defense] be entitled to specific information that the passengers did not intend assault?"

The prosecutor said her office had provided elements of the offenses it is alleging, as required by law.

"We are alleging they were all in that vehicle," prosecutor Johnson said. "There is no rule that says the state must provide a prima fascia case for every detail in the case."

But defense counsel argued that, unlike adult defendants, juveniles do not get a preliminary hearing, where a judge reviews evidence in open court and then determines whether there is probable cause to move forward with a trial. That lack of information, he said, "lowers the bar" of due process.

Further, the defense argued that the district attorney's office had not provided enough evidence for the court to proceed to trial. "I don't think probable cause has been met," he told the judge in a separate motion to dismiss all charges.

Hornak ruled against the dismissal request.

The Tribune generally does not name juvenile defendants unless they have been certified to stand trial as adults. Prosecutors have not said if they intend to try and certify the three boys to adult court.

If the case remains in juvenile court, the boys, if convicted, could be held in a secure juvenile facility until they are 21 years old.

On the day of the fatal crash, a chase began just after 3 a.m. after police officers saw a silver BMW coupe with Florida plates that had stopped in the middle of an intersection, according to the charging documents.

They saw three people walk from the BMW to an apartment complex, and watched the trio get into a Honda Accord and drive away.

The officers tried to stop that vehicle, but it accelerated on 4100 South, heading west. Officers threw spikes near Redwood Road, but that didn't stop the suspects.

Another police officer told investigators that he could see Brotherson out of his vehicle near 2200 West, trying to put down another set of tire spikes.

"[The officer] observed the Honda Accord swerve towards [Brotherson] and strike him with the vehicle," a detective wrote in a search warrant affidavit. "[The officer] stopped to check on the officer that had been struck. He found Officer Brotherson was down and appeared to be deceased from the impact."