Pubdate: Tue, 16 Jul 2002
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2002 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact:  http://www.desnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/124
Author: Geoffrey Fattah, Deseret News staff writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/corrupt.htm (Corruption)

HARDING POSTS $10,000 BAIL AND IS FREED

PROVO - Court documents filed Monday say it was Judge Ray Harding Jr.'s 
wife who turned him in, in what police are calling a family intervention 
into the 4th District judge's alleged struggle with drug abuse.

Harding, 48, posted $10,000 bail and was released from the Tooele County 
Jail Monday afternoon following his his first court appearance that morning 
in Provo.

Police responded to Harding's Highland home Saturday morning at the request 
of his family. Alpine/Highland Police Chief Kip Botkin said when the 
responding officer arrived, Harding's family had gathered at the house to 
confront the judge about his alleged drug problem.

According to warrants filed by police, Ann Harding called police asking for 
help with her husband. "She stated that she needed help at her residence . 
. . because her husband, Ray M. Harding Jr., had been using drugs all night 
long and that he was acting out of control."

The court documents say that when police arrived at the home, Harding was 
standing in the front door, "staggering." According to one of the two 
search warrants obtained by police, Ann Harding told police she believed 
her husband had been using a combination of cocaine and heroin and handed 
them a small baggie of cocaine. She then indicated to police that there was 
possibly other drugs and drug paraphernalia in the family vehicles and 
throughout the house and garage.

Officers reported finding quantities of suspected cocaine, heroin and 
barbiturates. Tests on the substances obtained using the search warrants 
have yet to be completed to determine exactly what police found.

On Saturday, Harding reportedly refused a Utah Highway patrolman's attempt 
to examine him for drugs, the documents state. The trooper noted that 
Harding had slow speech and poor balance. While police investigated, they 
reported Harding fell asleep.

Botkin confirmed that once Harding was taken into custody, a blood draw was 
performed to determine whether there were drugs in his system.

Harding's attorney and family have declined to talk to the media about the 
arrest.

Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson confirmed Tuesday that the Utah Attorney 
General's Office has taken over jurisdiction in the case to avoid any 
potential conflicts of interest. Prosecutors have said they expect charges 
will be filed before Monday, when Harding is scheduled for his next court 
appearance.

"Intervention," Botkin said, would be an appropriate term to describe what 
Harding's family did last weekend. Botkin said family members indicated 
that Harding's alleged abuse had been an ongoing problem. At this point, 
police are trying to determine who was supplying the drugs to the judge. 
Botkin said police do not believe any others in the family, including the 
children, are involved.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom