An attorney representing Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter and former Summit County Sheriff David Edmunds said Thursday that they are cooperating with a criminal obstruction investigation centered on alleged attempts to cast doubt on a political opponent who ran against incumbent Wasatch County Sheriff Jared Rigby.
Investigators with the Summit County Sheriff’s Office in February submitted a warrant to Verizon to search three phones belonging to Rigby, Carpenter and Edmunds. Law enforcement officials in the warrant said they believe the phones were used to obstruct justice in a criminal investigation.
The warrant focuses on an anonymous letter containing allegations of misconduct against Eric Mainord, a Summit County detective who announced his candidacy for Wasatch County sheriff on Jan. 7 before dropping out of the race on May 27. As a detective, Mainord was a key investigator and potential witness in Kouri Darden Richins’ aggravated murder case.
Greg Skordas, an attorney representing Carpenter and Edmunds, emphasized that warrants are submitted early in an investigation and do not necessarily indicate evidence of any wrongdoing.
“They did not participate in any effort to fabricate or anonymously circulate allegations against Eric Mainord, pressure Mainord to withdraw from the sheriff’s race, or interfere with the prosecution of Kouri Richins,” Skordas said in a statement.
Skordas said his clients “did not write or send the anonymous letter” described in the search warrant, “nor did they direct anyone else to do so.” He also reiterated that Carpenter and Edmunds are unable to speak about specifics regarding their communications with Rigby or the Summit County Sheriff’s Office because of the ongoing investigation.
The search warrant, which was unsealed last week, provides a detailed timeline of events last winter that spurred a criminal investigation into Rigby, who lost the primary election in June to Wasatch County Director of Emergency Services Jeremy Hales. Hales faces an unaffiliated candidate, Paul Moore, who moved to Heber City a year ago, in the upcoming general election on Nov. 3.
The search warrant states Summit County Chief Deputy Jon Evans received a phone call from Carpenter on Dec. 22, 2025, in which Carpenter told Evans that an individual, later identified as Edmunds, was going to submit a public records request for Mainord’s personnel file for the years he was employed with the Heber City Police Department, from 2014 to 2019.
Carpenter reportedly told Evans to ask Mainord to call Rigby. Evans “relayed that request,” but Mainord indicated he had “no intention” of calling Rigby and that Rigby “knew how to get in touch … if he wanted to.”
Rigby called Summit County Sheriff Kacey Bates in early January and asked to set up a meeting, telling her that he wanted “to talk campaign.” Bates at the time believed Rigby wanted to discuss an endorsement agreement, according to the search warrant.
Bates suggested meeting the following week, but Rigby “was insistent about an earlier meeting,” and the two agreed to have lunch together at Park City Hospital the next day, Jan. 8.
Rigby brought a manila envelope with him to the hospital and told Bates that he “had some concerns” about Mainord, adding that a public records request had been filed to obtain Mainord’s personnel file from the Heber City Police Department.
He then showed Bates the contents of the manila envelope, which included a “list of 13 ‘allegations’ involving” Mainord. Bates later discovered the allegations were the same as those included in Edmunds’ public records request.
Rigby reportedly told Bates that the list was “going to come out” about Mainord and encouraged her to speak to the Summit County Attorney’s Office because Mainord was a potential witness for the Darden Richins case. He indicated that the allegations would “have an impact on the trial,” according to the search warrant.
Bates allegedly told Rigby that the allegations sounded “slimy and like mudslinging,” with Rigby responding that Mainord’s “side started this.”
“Ms. Bates had the clear impression that Mr. Rigby was intimating that unless Mr. Mainord withdrew his candidacy, this information would become public and either directly or indirectly have a negative impact on the prosecution of Kouri Richins,” the search warrant says.
Thirty minutes after Bates met with Rigby, she received a call from Carpenter and told him that she felt ambushed by the conversation at the hospital. Carpenter again encouraged Bates to speak with the Summit County Attorney’s Office and said it would be “unfortunate” if the findings of the public records request affected the Darden Richins trial.
Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson received an anonymous letter in the mail two weeks later that was “unsigned and had no return address,” according to the search warrant. The letter included allegations against Mainord and “suggested certain incidents” needed to be investigated. It claimed there were “serious concerns as to his credibility and reliability as a witness.”
Olson immediately reported the letter to Bates, who recognized it as the same 13 allegations Rigby had shown her earlier that month.
“A handwriting expert … has preliminarily identified the handwriting on Mr. Edmunds’ (public records) request as the ‘possible’ handwriting of Mr. Rigby, subject to further analysis,” the search warrant says.
The warrant claimed the three phones were likely used by Rigby, Carpenter and Edmunds to coordinate the public records request and conversations with the Sheriff’s Office.
Park City Mayor Ryan Dickey declined to comment on allegations directed toward Carpenter in the search warrant, but he said he has “full confidence” in Carpenter’s performance as the city’s police chief.
“Chief Carpenter’s nearly two-decade track record of excellence as both the chief of our police department and a leader internationally in his profession speaks for itself,” Dickey said in a statement to The Park Record. “I have full confidence in his leadership of our police department.”
Skordas in his statement reiterated that search warrants are a normal part of an investigation, but they do not offer an opportunity to discuss context or provide evidence.
“At this stage, the court hears only from investigators,” Skordas said. “The people discussed in the affidavit do not have an opportunity to respond, provide context or challenge the information presented. The affidavit may therefore include allegations, interpretations and information from third parties that has not been independently confirmed.”
Skordas said the claims against Carpenter and Edmunds “have not been tried in a court proceeding” and that the existence of a search warrant does not mean the included information is “true.”
“Carpenter and Edmunds have cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so,” he said. “They respect the investigative process and believe the complete facts, including the context surrounding the communications described in the affidavit, should be evaluated before conclusions are reached. Chief Carpenter remains committed to the integrity of the Park City Police Department and to (maintaining) the trust of the community it serves.”
Rigby has not responded to a request for comment on the allegations included in the search warrant as of Thursday afternoon. He has previously declared his innocence.