Woman accused of trying to kill man with hammer pleads not guilty

September 18, 2018 Utah Channel 3

ST. GEORGE — Sasha Michelle Davis, a 21-year-old who is accused of attempting to kill a man with a hammer earlier this year, pleaded not guilty to her charges Tuesday.

Sasha Michelle Davis and Kade Robert Shearer are accused of luring a man to a remote location in Washington County, beating him with a hammer and stealing his belongings, Washington County, Utah, April 14, 2018 | Booking photos courtesy of Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News/Cedar City News

Along with Kade Robert Shearer, 21, Davis is accused of luring a man to a remote area of Washington County, beating him with a mini-sledge hammer, tying him up, shocking him with a stun gun and stealing his belongings on April 14.

Davis and Shearer are each charged with aggravated attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping and a misdemeanor for tampering with evidence.

Davis appeared in court Tuesday via video conference from the Purgatory Correctional Facility to enter her not guilty pleas through her attorney, Aric Cramer.

Shearer was not able to appear to enter his pleas Tuesday due to him being a federal inmate at the jail. His arraignment was rescheduled for Nov. 13.

In the attack, Shearer allegedly beat the man so hard and so long with the hammer, he had started to become winded. Davis is accused of using the stun gun to shock the man during the attack when he tried to fight back against Shearer. Afterward, they allegedly stole the man’s wallet and fled to Cedar City, where they were arrested the next day.

The defense for Davis and Shearer previously made the argument at a preliminary hearing July 27 that the attempted murder charge should be dismissed because the suspects only wanted to hurt the man and not kill him. However, Judge Jeffrey Wilcox rejected the argument.

In this file photo, Kade Robert Shearer, who is accused of attempted murder, enters the courtroom for his preliminary hearing at the 5th District Courthouse in St. George, Utah, July 27, 2018 | File photo by Spencer Ricks, St. George News

In the preliminary hearing, the 40-year-old victim faced his accused attackers and called them murderers.

“(Shearer) hit me so many times with the hammer that the wood on the back broke and he turned it around and plunged the hammer into the front of my head,” the man said at the hearing.

Cramer said they are in discussions with the prosecutor to resolve the case without it going to trial. A hearing for a possible resolution will also take place on Nov. 13.

Email: sricks@stgnews.com

Twitter: @STGnews | @SpencerRicks