Acting on orders from the Montana Supreme Court, Anaconda District Court Judge Jeffrey Dahood has unsealed all of the charging documents against Michael Paul Brown, the accused fatal shooter of Anaconda residents in the town’s Owl Bar.
Media organizations, including the Montana Broadcasters Association–of which KGEZ is a member, argued that those documents were improperly sealed. The Supreme Court agreed, with one exception–the files relating to Brown’s mental health evaluation.
Through his Public Defender, Brown had pleaded not guilty in September to separate counts of arson, homicide, theft and evading law enforcement.
In her remarks to the court…Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Attorney Morgan Smith said that she and Brown’s attorney had jointly filed a motion in mid-December to have the defendant undergo a mental health evaluation to determine his competency to move forward with a trial.
Brown has been undergoing treatment at the Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs since mid-March. The state, we’re being told, is trying to get him “well enough” to stand trial…his defense will probably hinge on him not “being well” when he committed the murders.
The next status hearing for Wednesday, May 6th.
