Maximum Life Skills Academy

Maximum Life Skills Academy was a privately owned behavioral youth modification center in Cedar City, Utah. The facility operated for approximately two years before shutting down due to a violent incident involving the murder of a staff member by two youths in the program.

History
The Maximum Life Skills Academy was licensed in May 2002 as a privately owned youth behavioral modification program and was part of the troubled teen industry. The program could accommodate roughly 11 male students aged 11–17 prior to its closure. It was founded by Adam Ah Quin, Max Ah Quin, and Sunny Ah Quin, who were listed as directors and officers, with Sunny also serving as secretary. Clayton AhQuin Sr., who also founded Liahona Academy, was named as a potential owner and founder of Maximum Life Skills Academy. Adam AhQuin later founded the all-female troubled teen program Second Chances In Southern Utah.

As a direct result of Arnett's death, Maximum Life Skills Academy's license was revoked in May 2004, citing 22 violations, including inadequate staffing, failure to obtain criminal background checks, and violating National Interstate Compact Laws. OSHA issued the academy a $1,500 citation for the fatal incident on July 1, 2004.

The AhQuins initially planned to appeal the closure of Maximum Life Skills Academy but withdrew the appeal, as it was revealed that they instead intended to apply for another program license to found a new troubled teen program in a different location in Cedar City, Ut. State documents from September 2004 verified that the AhQuins were listed as named parties in founding this other troubled teen facility, the program was designated to be named "A+ Academy." The program's president at the time, Scott Smith, claimed he intended to remove all the AhQuins with the exception of Sunny AhQuin from the proposed A+ Academy program employee roster.

Death of Anson Arnett
On March 8, 2004, 31-year-old staff member Anson Arnett, who was alone with six program attendees at the time, was ambushed and beaten with an aluminum baseball bat by two 17-year-old attendees, Jesse Simmons from Delaware and Sean Graham from Baltimore. After sustaining two traumatic head injuries, Arnett was locked upside-down in a nearby closet by Graham, who then also cut the phone line. The teens stole a program van and fled to Las Vegas. Four other boys attending the program ran to a nearby staff member's home and alerted them of the incident, by the time help arrived, medical attention for Arnett had been delayed by 1.5 hours. Arnett died the next day in a Salt Lake City hospital.

Both Simmons and Graham were charged as adults under Utah law, which mandates adult trials for individuals over 16 who commit aggravated murder. Simmons pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder and was sentenced to five years to life in prison, while Graham was convicted of murder, aggravated kidnapping, and theft, receiving a sentence of 15 years to life. Simmons was released in September 2022.