The day before Reckless Ben’s preliminary hearing, Utah County told Judge Thomas Low it could not subpoena a witness.
Utah County charged him in March. The court put him under a stay-away order on March 10 and a protective order on May 20. The preliminary hearing, where the State must first show its evidence, was set for September 30 at 10:30 a.m. in Provo. On September 29 the county filed a one-page motion, stipulated by both sides, asking to postpone it: “The State was unable to subpoena a witness, and the parties request additional time to work on a potential resolution.” It names no witness and sets no new date.
PRIMARY SOURCEState of Utah v. Benjamin Paul Schneider, Fourth Judicial District Court, Utah County, No. 261401094: “Stipulated Motion to Continue Preliminary Hearing,” dated September 29, 2026, signed by Deputy Utah County Attorney Christine Scott.
CONFIRMEDThe earlier record: the hold order with its stay-away condition, March 10; the Information, sworn March 27; the pretrial protective order, May 20; the order moving the waiver hearing from July 1 to August 12, June 26. The September 29 motion asks for no change to the orders.
UNRESOLVEDwhich witness, what resolution, and the new date
The sentence
“Stipulated” means both sides agree to it, and the motion speaks for “the parties”; the first of its two reasons is the State’s alone.
Six months after charging him, the State told the court it could not subpoena a witness.
What the State did not need
A preliminary hearing does not require the State to bring every witness into the room. Rule 7B, quoted here on September 23, says “The findings of probable cause may be based, in whole or in part, on reliable hearsay” (what September 30 was to decide). The motion does not say why this witness mattered, or what the resolution would be.
The orders that do not move
A continuance moves the hearing. It does not touch the orders, and the motion asks for no change to them. The March 10 hold order requires him to “stay at least 1000’ away from the alleged victim” and from the victim’s “residence, place of worship, employer, and school.” The May 20 pretrial protective order finds that “the defendant represents a credible threat to the physical safety of the protected person,” and violating it while the charge is pending is itself a Class A misdemeanor (the orders, reported September 23). Nothing on the docket held here lifts either one. Until the hearing is held, the State’s evidence has not been tested in court.
The protected person is Joshua Johnson, a plaintiff with BAM Franchising and both McNeffs in the federal racketeering case against Reckless Ben (reported September 26).
The other case
The day before a hearing is also when Provo dropped its separate trespass case against him (reported September 14). Utah County’s motion asks for a new date.
The fair reading, and its limit. Continuances are ordinary in criminal cases, and a witness who cannot be served in time is often a scheduling problem and nothing more. Talk of a resolution binds neither side, and the defense agreed to the delay. The limit is the State’s own sentence, filed the day before its hearing and six months after it brought the charges. The right of reply is open to the Utah County Attorney, to the defense, and to Mr. Johnson.
The record
The court’s filings in case 261401094.
- Order to hold with bail, March 10, 2026
- Affidavit of probable cause, March 10
- Affidavit of probable cause, March 11
- Information, March 27
- Pretrial protective order, May 20
- Defense request for discovery, June 18
- Order moving the waiver hearing to August 12, June 26
- Return of service on the criminal subpoena, September 21
- Stipulated motion to continue the preliminary hearing, September 29
This site’s reporting on the case.
- September 23: the subpoena, the charges, and what the hearing decides, with every earlier piece on the American Fork case listed there
- September 14: Provo dropped its separate case the day before its hearing
- The bodycam, camera by camera
Sources. Fourth Judicial District Court, Utah County, State of Utah v. Benjamin Paul Schneider, No. 261401094: the stipulated motion to continue the preliminary hearing, dated September 29, 2026, quoted verbatim, and the earlier filings in the case. The charges are accusations. Ben Schneider is presumed innocent, and everyone named here is presumed to have acted lawfully.