OGDEN — A defense attorney on Thursday advanced a self-defense argument for a woman who is accused of shooting a man during an alleged burglary.

The man has a long record of mostly misdemeanor convictions for assaulting women, attorney Randall Richards said, arguing the man’s credibility as a witness is questionable heading into 31-year-old Mauren Wall’s trial.

Wall, of Porterville, is charged with aggravated burglary and aggravated robbery, both first-degree felonies; second-degree felony aggravated assault; and third-degree felony counts of obstructing justice and use of a firearm by a restricted person.

Charging documents alleged that on Jan. 21, 2021, Wall was inside a Brinker Avenue home without permission and was confronted by a woman who arrived home. Wall argued that the woman owed her money, and she then allegedly drew a handgun and shot a man who tried to “escort her off the property.” The man was shot in the abdomen and underwent surgery, but he survived.

In a 2nd District Court hearing on Thursday, Richards said the shooting was in self-defense. He asked Judge Reuben Renstrom to allow him to admit evidence of the man’s prior criminal record. Wall is scheduled to go on trial June 27.

“My client said she was trying to leave the house, he follows her, he attacks her,” Richards said. “He’s a lot bigger than her. She tried to wrestle the gun from him, the gun went off.”

Prosecutor Dean Saunders of the Weber County Attorney’s Office said he would agree only to the admissibility of evidence of the man’s 2018 felony conviction for violation of a protective order. Other criminal instances mentioned by Richards were either misdemeanors or too old, making them inadmissible due to court rules, Saunders said.

Renstrom agreed with Saunders, allowing only the felony conviction to be admitted. Richards also argued for the criminal records of several other potential witnesses to be admitted in Wall’s case. He said those convictions for theft, lying to police and assault would be important information for jurors to weigh. But Renstrom said only the convictions of one witness were recent or severe enough to be admitted.

Richards again sought to have Wall freed on bail. Wall has been held without bail in the Weber County Jail since her arrest the day of the shooting. Richards asserted Thursday that Wall’s right to a speedy trial is being violated because her previous trial date was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the jail and the jail would not transport her to court for the trial because she had been exposed to the coronavirus.

The attorney asked Renstrom to set Wall’s bail at $20,000. He said Wall also would agree to wear an ankle monitor. But Renstrom, who denied several bail requests by Richards earlier in the case, again said Wall will remain incarcerated. “I don’t like the idea of someone presumed innocent being in jail more than anyone else,” Renstrom told Richards.

Saunders noted that Wall has “felony on felony” status because she was on probation for a 2020 third-degree felony shoplifting conviction when she was arrested after the shooting. Under court rules, a judge may consider this status as an argument against allowing bail.

Saunders also gave a reminder that Renstrom earlier ruled Wall would present a danger to the public or others involved in the case if she was released. “The evidence shows she went over to a house to get money and shot somebody,” Saunders said.

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