A man who murdered a Utah Highway Patrol trooper in 1978 is scheduled to be paroled next year.
Brian Keith Stack shot and killed Ray Lynn Pierson, 29, on Highway 20 near Panguitch. A note on the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole website says Stack will be granted parole on Feb. 17.
Stack was 18 years old and driving a stolen vehicle when, on Nov. 7, 1978, he took gasoline without paying. Pierson didn’t know that when he stopped him west of Panguitch, according to written accounts.
Stack fired a stolen .357 pistol and shot Pierson, who managed to fire six shots at Stack before he fled.