By TRAVIS MURDOCK
Police report the gun used by BYU football player Derik Stevenson in a fight at Snow College may have been the same gun used by his brother in a fight at Utah Valley State College in November.
“The weapon may have been the same one used in the incident in Ephraim. We are investigating the case,” said Tracy Marrott, a UVSC police officer.
Peter Stevenson, Derik’s younger brother, is accused of firing a gun into the air during an altercation at UVSC in November. He turned himself in to police and was booked on third-degree felony aggravated assault, discharging a firearm and carrying a concealed weapon on campus.
The guns used in both brother’s incidents was a 9mm gun.
“Supposedly the family owns the gun used in Peter Stevenson’s case, but the gun used at Snow College by Derik Stevenson is owned by Jason Tenney,” said Ron Rassmussen, Ephraim chief of police.
Derik told The Daily Universe he is frustrated with all the publicity this case has received.
“I plead guilty to what I did. I wish people would let this pass and let me get on with football and my schooling at BYU,” Derik said.
“The gun used by my brother at Utah Valley State College was not the same used by me. I don’t own a gun and I don’t know what the police are looking into; I gave them a full story,” Derik said.
Derik’s lawyer is also frustrated with what he said is the media’s misrepresentation of his client.
“The statement that the guns are the same is completely false. Any investigation into the issue will reveal they are different guns. The gun used in Ephraim by my client was given to him by Tenney. The gun Peter Stevenson used is owned by his father,” said Brian Harrison, Derik’s lawyer.
According to Harrison, Derik was in the parking lot at Snow College and saw a group of men beating his friend. Derik fired the gun into the air six times, emptying the gun’s clip of bullets. When the assailants realized his gun was empty, they advanced on Derik.
The gang kicked Derik more than 40 times until he passed out. When he came to, the assailants began to kick him until he passed out again. A security guard and relative to one of the assailants stepped in to stop the beating, said Harrison.
“It is a miracle (Derik) didn’t receive more serious injuries from the fight,” Harrison said. “Derik was only trying to help out his friends; he was not looking for any trouble.”
The Sanpete County attorney’s office stated that Patrick Liufau has been charged with two counts of misdemenor assault for his roll in the beating of Derik and his friend. The attorney’s office expects Liufau to appear in court Feb 5.
