SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A 2News continuing investigation is examining crime victim reparations following the savage attack on a barber shop owner last November — and a new law that is supposed to streamline the process.
In 2023, the Utah Office for Victims of Crime received 8,600 applications for crime victim reparations. Funding for crime victims was front and center during the 2024 legislative session and what passed is expected to not only streamline the process to determine who is eligible for benefits, it also requires law enforcement to provide UOVC with investigative reports so they can reach out to victims and families who may not know the reparations program exists.
The victim in the November attack has agreed to tell her story and has asked that 2News Investigates refer to her only by her first name.
On Nov. 8, Unified Police say Mulan was attacked by James Edward Allums, a violent parolee with a forty-year history of committing violent crimes. He was armed with what turned out to be a fake gun, duct tape and a metal cement stake and had cased Stag Barber Shop in Millcreek the night before. UPD says Allums beat Mulan over the head with the cement metal stake and she fought him off and surveillance video captured her crawling on her hands and knees bloodied screaming for help.
“I just fall off the ground from there I crawl all the way the whole building and here, my two knees – all of the blood everywhere the skin come all off,” she told 2News Investigates.
ALLUMS HAD FOUR ROUNDS IN THE CHAMBER WHEN HE POINTED GUN AT EMIGRATION MARKET EMPLOYEE
Allums is charged with aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and obstruction of justice. This isn’t the first time Allums has used a gun and robbed an innocent person. In fact, he has convictions for armed robbery and attempted bank robbery. The husband of one of his victims following the armed robbery of Emigration Market spoke at his 2005 parole hearing. Parole Board member Dan Blanchard mentioned that Allums had four rounds in the chamber of the revolver he used in the robbery.
“My life has changed having a gun pointed at my head. It may be the style of his, of hair he had or the type of outfit he was wearing. My heart would begin to race, and I would get sick to my stomach.”
Unified Fire transported Mulan to St. Mark’s Hospital.
Hospital records she provided to 2News Investigates show she suffered multiple blows to her head, face and severe injuries to her hands trying to fight off Allums.
The ambulance bill was just over $1,200. Hospital bills were over $10,000 after she was admitted, and the doctors said she was at risk of death. Mulan says it adds insult to injury given the devastating injuries she suffered.
“They should pay the bill, not my bill, that’s not my bill at all,” Mulan says.
She is petrified and now closes the barber shop earlier than she used to.
“Before I close 5:30 for the business and no problem at all for right now 4:30 I just so scary so no one in here, I just want to get out of here, so it hurt my business now close the business a little bit early, not the same it used to at all.”
When it comes to lost wages, she was unable to cut hair and still suffers from vertigo.
“I lost some of the business in here now,” she says.
She provided a copy of the time she could not work, and it clearly shows lost wages as she is self-employed.
She says, “I need to pay the bill I need to take care of my business, what do I need to do, so nobody can help.”
VICTIM’S MOTHER SUSAN DUEHLMEIER FIGHTING FOR CHANGE
Susan Duehlmeier’s daughter Heidi was the focus of a 2News Investigation last year. A young criminal wanted by the police was driving 70 miles per hour on Highland Drive in a stolen car and crashed into Heidi’s SUV, critically injuring her. Dallas Bench and his front seat passenger both died in the crash. Heidi was a dental hygienist and can no longer work in her profession. The medical bills in her case were more than $200,000. It took reparations officers at UOVC four months to get the UPD reports to verify if Heidi was eligible for benefits.
H.B. 276 CRIME VICTIM’S RESTITUTION AMENDMENTS
State Representative Melissa Garff Ballard represents District 20 in Davis County and introduced House Bill 276 “Crime Victim’s Restitution Amendments” during the 2024 legislative session.
During a House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee hearing on January 24, Ballard had this to say about the Duehlmeier case before Heidi’s mom Susan testified.
“The criminal died on impact and yet it still took four months to get it started that’s a long time,” the lawmaker told the committee.
PAROLE FUGITIVE CHARGED WITH KILLING YAHIR DUENAS-GOMEZ LEFT FAMILY WITH $250K IN MEDICAL BILLS
Then there’s the death of 17-year-old Yahir Duenas-Gomez, 2News Investigates first exposed in 2021 in a series of reports on parole fugitives. Salt Lake City Police say parole fugitive Llobani Figueroa was behind the wheel in June of 2020 and killed the teenager who was a passenger in the car. The family was saddled with $250,000 in medical bills after he was taken off life support just over a week later.
Our 2News Investigation discovered Intermountain Healthcare was never notified that Yahir’s death was part of a criminal investigation, in their database it was listed as an accident. We contacted UOVC in June of 2021 and they entered into a settlement with Intermountain Healthcare and the hospital system waived the bill. Figueroa was nowhere to be found for three years but was eventually captured in 2023 and will stand trial for manslaughter for Yahir’s death.
RELATED: $250K hospital bill for family of teen crime victim waived after 2News investigation
TROLLEY SQUARE MASS SHOOTING WIDOW TESTIFIED ABOUT HUSBAND’S MURDER
Vickie Walker also testified at the committee hearing. She became a widow after the mass shooting on February 12, 2007, at the shopping center in Salt Lake City, Trolley Square. Her son was critically injured in the shooting.
She told the committee that an atomic bomb landed in the middle of her family.
She told lawmakers that her husband of 25 years was shopping at Trolley Square with their 16-year-old son for Valentine’s Day gifts.
Walker said, “Jeff was brutally taken from our family in a senseless act of violence, during one of America’s first mass shootings.”
And then said, “My beautiful son AJ not only witnessed the murder of his father, but also sustained life-threatening injuries.”
Walker told committee members that she was there to represent those who are considered victims in these kind of tragedies and said she was considered a secondary victim. But Walker made it clear that her son AJ only wants to be known as a survivor, and that she applauds that. She went on to say that she sits on the Crime Victims Reparation Panel and is a recipient of those services which gives her an “unusual perspective.” of being on both sides of the spectrum.
She testified how the ambulance bill came in as she returned home from her husband’s funeral.
“I was in a funeral home sobbing my head off because I didn’t know how when they hand the little piece of paper to you – with everything itemized and that number was something I wasn’t prepared to see.”
Considered a slow process – three weeks to six months, sometimes even a year for the UOVC to get the information.
“The report surrounding Jeff’s murder were not released for months and we were not able to tap into those resources that were there for us,” Walker said.
Rep. Ballard proposed crime victims get a lump sum payment instead of having to turn in a lot of receipts.
“This will make for those victims to be able to get a lump sum instead of nickel and diming them with lots of receipts,” Ballard said.
But after testimony it was struck from the bill.
H.B. 276 PASSED INTO LAW IN MARCH 2024
House Bill 276 passed into law early March and Governor Cox signed it on March 13.
Ballard’s bill requires law enforcement to turn over unredacted investigative reports to reparations officers at the UOVC even if it is an open investigation. That way the UOVC can reach out to victim’s and their families. The bill specifically establishes timelines, procedures, and sharing restrictions with regard to the request as well as a criminal penalty for unauthorized use or distribution of an investigative report.
Law enforcement agencies are allowed to redact names of undercover officers, confidential informants, and any information that would jeopardize the investigation or disclose law enforcement techniques.
What’s more, if the incident is still under investigation and the report is requested, law enforcement can provide a description including the agency case number, the location of where the crime occurred, the criminal conduct that they are investigating, a summary of the crime, verification that the person claiming they are a victim is truly a victim and if the claimant’s conduct contributed to the criminal conduct.
Additionally, whether the claimant is cooperating with law enforcement among other things.
BARBER SHOP ATTACK VICTIM IS GETTING HELP FROM UTAH OFFICE FOR VICTIMS OF CRIME
For Mulan it has been hard to navigate the process all the while trying to recover and feels lucky to be alive.
She says, “Everything is uncomfortable, so nervous every day in here now and I got the bill what do I need to do I don’t know how to do all of those. Not easy for me to do.
Gary Scheller, the Executive Director of UOVC cannot comment on cases but Mulan provided us information that shows UOVC is helping her.
Scheller in an email wrote:
“In cases like this, not only does the program cover the medical expenses, including ambulance services, but also when needed scar revision and other procedures to help erase as much of the physical trauma as possible. And of course, mental health counseling benefits provided are as important as helping with the physical recovery of victims in these cases. Additionally, the program provides replacement of a victim’s wages lost as result of such crimes. That benefit is crucial in cases in which victims might be self-employed or may not have employer paid leave.
Representative Ballard’s HB267, which passed this year’s legislative session will go a long way in speeding up the process of getting the investigative information to our office in these cases. Additionally, Representative Clancy’s HB308 will provide some additional tools to help us ensure that law enforcement personnel help prioritize connecting victims with the program.
If any victim receives medical/ambulance bills in these circumstances, which they may, given it being a natural part of the medical services process, the victim reparations program will still pay those expenses which the victim is responsible to pay, after insurance, if the victim has insurance. If the victim does not have insurance, the program pays those bills and with insurance or not, the amounts paid by the program are by law, payment in full.”
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