HARDING POSTS $10,000 BAIL AND IS FREED

PROVO - Court documents filed Monday say it was Judge Ray Harding Jr.'s
wife who turned him in, in what police are calling a family intervention
into the 4th District judge's alleged struggle with drug abuse.

Harding, 48, posted $10,000 bail and was released from the Tooele County
Jail Monday afternoon following his his first court appearance that morning
in Provo.

Police responded to Harding's Highland home Saturday morning at the request
of his family. Alpine/Highland Police Chief Kip Botkin said when the
responding officer arrived, Harding's family had gathered at the house to
confront the judge about his alleged drug problem.

According to warrants filed by police, Ann Harding called police asking for
help with her husband. "She stated that she needed help at her residence .
. . because her husband, Ray M. Harding Jr., had been using drugs all night
long and that he was acting out of control."

The court documents say that when police arrived at the home, Harding was
standing in the front door, "staggering." According to one of the two
search warrants obtained by police, Ann Harding told police she believed
her husband had been using a combination of cocaine and heroin and handed
them a small baggie of cocaine. She then indicated to police that there was
possibly other drugs and drug paraphernalia in the family vehicles and
throughout the house and garage.

Officers reported finding quantities of suspected cocaine, heroin and
barbiturates. Tests on the substances obtained using the search warrants
have yet to be completed to determine exactly what police found.

On Saturday, Harding reportedly refused a Utah Highway patrolman's attempt
to examine him for drugs, the documents state. The trooper noted that
Harding had slow speech and poor balance. While police investigated, they
reported Harding fell asleep.

Botkin confirmed that once Harding was taken into custody, a blood draw was
performed to determine whether there were drugs in his system.

Harding's attorney and family have declined to talk to the media about the
arrest.

Utah County Attorney Kay Bryson confirmed Tuesday that the Utah Attorney
General's Office has taken over jurisdiction in the case to avoid any
potential conflicts of interest. Prosecutors have said they expect charges
will be filed before Monday, when Harding is scheduled for his next court
appearance.

"Intervention," Botkin said, would be an appropriate term to describe what
Harding's family did last weekend. Botkin said family members indicated
that Harding's alleged abuse had been an ongoing problem. At this point,
police are trying to determine who was supplying the drugs to the judge.
Botkin said police do not believe any others in the family, including the
children, are involved.