SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 22, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Former Salt Lake County District Attorney David Yocom, who served four terms between 1986 and 2006, and who successfully prosecuted cases against infamous criminals including Ted Bundy and Mark Hofmann, has died. He was 85.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced the passing of the man he called his “long-time friend and colleague.”
“It was an honor to work with David as the District Attorney,” Gill said in a released statement.
“He not only inspired me as a young prosecutor but served as an example and mentor for me and hundreds of Salt Lake County Deputy District Attorneys over his long tenure in office.
“David was an advocate for bringing the District Attorney’s office closer to the courts to help the two entities work together more efficiently, a vision that I was honored to help see through to its completion. David spoke his mind, never shied away from tough cases and made a positive difference in this community.”
Yocom’s law career spanned from the 1960s until the early 2000s, Gill’s statement says. Voters first elected Yocom to be the Salt Lake County District Attorney in 1986; after being re-elected in 1990, he lost his re-election in 1994 but came back to serve two additional terms as the DA from 1998 to 2006.
Yocom graduated from the University of Utah Law School in 1965. After working as a private practice attorney for a number of years, he was invited to work as a part-time Deputy District Attorney in the early 1970s. As a young prosecutor, Yocom successfully prosecuted and convicted Ted Bundy of aggravated kidnapping in 1976, the first time Bundy had been convicted and sentenced to prison.
Yocom left the Salt Lake County Attorney’s office in 1977 to work in private practice but was brought back as a special prosecutor in 1978 to handle the successful prosecution of Ervil LeBaron for ordering the murder of polygamist leader Rulon Allred.
Yocom continued to work in private practice following LeBaron’s prosecution. As part of his work in private practice, he was appointed defense counsel for white supremacist Joseph Paul Franklin for the double homicide of two young African American men who were shot while jogging through Liberty Park. This case could ruin a career, but Yocom, as a sworn member of the legal profession, did his job to uphold the law and do everything he could to guarantee the defendant a fair trial.
As the Salt Lake County District Attorney, Yocom oversaw hundreds of notorious criminal cases from Hofmann to Mark Hacking.
“David is survived by his loving wife, four sons, eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren,” Gill’s statement says. “We send our condolences to David’s family and loved ones.”
