Curtis Allgier

Case overview

Curtis Michael Allgier (born August 25, 1979) was a white supremacist skinhead who was held in the Utah State Prison in Salt Lake City, Utah for the murder of corrections officer Stephen Anderson.

Background

Allgier’s criminal record began in 1998 with convictions for theft and reckless driving in South Dakota. In October 2000, he was charged in Utah with felony burglary, forgery and theft after he burglarized a neighbor's apartment and made out a stolen check to himself for $300. That month, he was also charged in another county with carrying a concealed handgun and was sentenced to 180 days and probation.

Allgier fled Utah in August 2001, leading to a one-to-15-year sentence. He was paroled in May 2003. In July 2004, he was arrested and sent back to prison for traveling to California without authorization and possessing two knives. He was paroled in October 2006 and served another 27 months in prison. In November (year not specified), he became a fugitive on a parole violation for two days before a Salt Lake City SWAT team arrested him at a local hotel. Armed, he barricaded himself inside a room for a time but was captured after falling through the hotel's ceiling where he had tried to hide.

On June 14, 2007, Allgier was sentenced to 104 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The 2007 Salt Lake City murder occurred while he was serving this incarceration.

The offence

On the morning of June 25, 2007, Anderson escorted Allgier to the University of Utah for an MRI because Allgier had been complaining of back problems. While waiting with Anderson in an examination room at the university's orthopedic center, Allgier was unshackled. He overpowered and disarmed Anderson and shot him in the head. Allgier later stated that the gun went off accidentally during the struggle.

After fleeing the clinic on foot, Allgier carjacked a Ford Explorer and led police on a high-speed chase. The chase ended at an Arby's restaurant a few miles away. Allgier tried to shoot an employee, but the gun malfunctioned.

According to testimony at a 2010 preliminary hearing, Allgier pointed the gun at Eric Fullerton and then grabbed an employee, Alejandro Gomez, around the neck and put a gun to his head. Gomez either tripped or struggled and Allgier fired a shot that barely missed the employee's head. Allgier beat Gomez with the butt of the gun. Fullerton, who had grabbed Allgier's arm, tried to pry his fingers from the weapon. Allgier punched Fullerton and then slashed his throat with a knife before finally surrendering to police.

Fullerton testified that he did not feel pain, and that he felt the coldness of the blade and heard the sound. Soon after, police found Allgier in an office in the restaurant. His freedom lasted just 45 minutes. At the time of his escape, Allgier was serving a state prison sentence for burglary and forgery while awaiting federal incarceration for weapons violations. He had previously absconded from parole in August 2001 and May 2003. While on parole in October 2006, he was charged by federal prosecutors for possessing a 9 mm handgun.

Investigation

Anderson and Allgier had been at the University of Utah medical clinic for an MRI when the shooting occurred. After Allgier fled on foot and carjacked a Ford Explorer, police pursued him on a high-speed chase. Allgier was captured after the pursuit ended at an Arby's restaurant.

Eric Fullerton tackled and held Allgier until police arrived.

Arrest

A capture occurred after Allgier got a flat tire and ran into an Arby's restaurant near 1700 South and Redwood Road. The chase ended there. Police found Allgier in an office in the restaurant after he surrendered.

Trial

Allgier’s murder trial was initially set for June 2012. In March 2012, the judge granted a motion postponing the trial. On October 3, 2012, Allgier unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murder and several other charges and also pleaded no contest to three charges of attempted murder. The plea deal was expected to avoid the death penalty and result in life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Allgier offered statements during the proceedings. At the sentencing hearing, he said:

"I apologize from the bottom of my heart. I didn't want to hurt anybody. It was an accident"

He also said:

"Just because I've got tattoos on my face and I'm proud of my race, I'm not some violent monster."

In court Wednesday, prosecutors called Fullerton a hero. During the sentencing proceedings, Allgier said:

"I just want to make clear, the reason I'm doing this is for those people right there"

Allgier said “Guilty.”

Allgier’s defense attorney Dusty Kawai said:

"That's something he's been willing to do since June 28 of 2007... Death was on the table since '07"

Kawai also said:

"If they're going to invite you to dance, you've got to dance. You can't just plead to a death sentence."

Prosecutor Robert Stott said:

"They want to get it over"

Stott also said:

"They want it resolved now, not 25 years from now."

Kawai read a statement Allgier had written by hand:

"Mr. Allgier did this out of respect for Millie, Shawn, Michelle and the rest of the Stephen Anderson family, not for his own behalf,"

In testimony recounted from a 2010 court hearing, Fullerton said:

"I didn't feel pain"

Fullerton also said:

"I did feel the coldness of the blade, and I heard the sound."

Fullerton testified in court:

"He's got the knife, I've got the gun — contest over."

Fullerton also said:

"I thought, 'This is it,' "

Sentencing

A plea deal between defense and prosecution was made official on October 4, 2012. A judge opened the sentencing hearing to family members of Anderson. The sentencing hearing occurred before Third District Judge Paul Maughan. On December 5, 2012, Allgier was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Judge Paul Maughan’s sentencing hearing included statements attributed to family and officials regarding the plea deal and the removal of the death penalty from the table.

The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a daughter of Anderson’s said it was:

"impossible to replace a man like my father."

In court, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said:

"competing interests"

Gill also said:

"When you have a case like this, which is so important, which is so tragic in the experience of our community, it's understandable why that's there,"

Gill further said:

"But there is no way a third-party or fourth-party interest should ever be able to trump the needs of the family, of the victims who are here."

Gill added:

"If we start doing that, we will start to completely lose any measure of justice we can retain."

Gill said:

"The system isn't perfect, but today, in this courthouse, with this family, we retrieved the best measure of justice we could, and justice was served."

In a statement, Anderson’s family said the plea deal meant Allgier:

"can never hurt another innocent person again."

The statement also said:

"Stephen Anderson's influence and example are missed every day by his family and those who knew him, and these memories will never be lost,"

and:

"Stephen was a kind and generous man who served his family, his church, and his community with kindness, dedication, and honor."

and:

"This has been a trying time for everyone who knew Stephen."

and:

"This senseless act of violence is a constant reminder that we live in a less than perfect world with less than perfect people."

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Allgier pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole on December 5, 2012.

Other details

Victims and people involved

Stephen Anderson was a corrections officer for the Utah Department of Corrections and was survived by a wife, five adult children and 18 grandchildren. Anderson was 60 years old and had worked for the Utah Department of Corrections for 22 years. A wife and family attended the sentencing.

Eric Fullerton was 59 years old. He was described as a former Army paratrooper. He ordered a ham-and-cheese croissant and orange juice for breakfast when the chase ended at the Arby's restaurant.

Alejandro Gomez was an employee at the Arby's restaurant who was grabbed around the neck and had a gun put to his head.

A slight woman in her 70s named Maxine McNeeley supported Allgier. She met him through letters the two exchanged since his arrest. McNeeley said:

"I'm happy they took the death penalty off the table."

McNeeley also said:

"Life in prison in a little box is suffering enough."

McNeeley said:

"I'm sorry for the Anderson family, for their loss."

McNeeley added:

"And I'm going to miss Curtis."

McNeeley also said:

"He's been a joy to me."

McNeeley further said:

"He's lifted me up when I've been down, and I've just seen him through different eyes."

Allgier’s ex-wife Jolene said he had the “courage to put his beliefs on his entire body.”

Tattoos and ideology

Allgier had numerous tattoos expressing white supremacist beliefs. The Southern Poverty Law Center described Allgier’s face as the "Face of Hate". The meanings of each tattoo were explained as follows:

• Crucified skinhead (right cheek): Symbolized the persecution of working class skinheads by the upper class.
• Three intersecting triangles (right jaw): Known as a valknut or volknut, symbolized the afterlife and binding of the soul to Odin, who was considered chief among the Norse gods, among non-racist Pagans. Among racist Pagans, it was said to signify “that one is ready to be taken into the ranks of Odin’s chosen warriors.”
• 5150 (under the right eye): A likely reference to California statute 5150, which required commitment to psychiatric hospitals for people declared to be a danger to themselves or others.
• Hatebreed (upper lip): An American hardcore/metalcore band popular among racist skinheads.
• Iron Crosses (forehead temples): Military decoration used by Nazi Germany.
• SS Lightning Bolts (jawbones): A symbol of the Schutzstaffel (translated to Protection Squadron or defence corps), abbreviated as SS or with stylized "Armanen" sig runes), which was described as a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party, a Nazi police force that administered death camps, in addition to staffing mobile killing units known as Einsatzgruppen. The Nuremberg judges were said to have declared the entire SS a criminal organization after World War II.
• Blood, Honor, and Loyalty (collarbone): A heavily-used phrase by white supremacists as well as other neo-Nazis in clothing, lyrics, and tattoos.

In addition, Fullerton described Allgier as a self-described “white-power skinhead” and member of the white-supremacy gang Aryan Empire Warriors.

Timeline

1998 — Allgier was convicted in South Dakota for theft and reckless driving. October 2000 — Allgier was charged in Utah with felony burglary, forgery and theft after burglarizing a neighbor's apartment and making out a stolen check to himself for $300; he was also charged with carrying a concealed handgun and sentenced to 180 days and probation. August 2001 — Allgier fled Utah, leading to a one-to-15-year sentence. May 2003 — Allgier was paroled. July 2004 — Allgier was arrested and sent back to prison for traveling to California without authorization and possessing two knives. October 2006 — Allgier was paroled and served another 27 months in prison. November (year not specified) — Allgier became a fugitive on a parole violation for two days; a Salt Lake City SWAT team arrested him at a local hotel. June 14, 2007 — Allgier was sentenced to 104 months in prison for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. June 25, 2007 — Anderson escorted Allgier to the University of Utah for an MRI; Allgier shot Anderson in the head, fled, carjacked a Ford Explorer, and led police on a high-speed chase that ended at an Arby's restaurant. March 2012 — A judge granted a motion postponing Allgier’s murder trial. October 3, 2012 — Allgier pleaded guilty to murder and several other charges and pleaded no contest to three charges of attempted murder. December 5, 2012 — Allgier was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.