By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – A man convicted of negligent homicide in 2014 on allegations of fatally shooting his brother in Havre had his initial appearance in a retrial after the Montana Supreme Court vacated the ruling.
The hearing took place in Hill County District Court on Friday morning. Judge Matthew Cuffe appeared by video from Libby. Cuffe is hearing the case after Judges Kaydee Snipes-Ruiz and John W. Parker recused themselves.
The defendant, Shane Johnson, appeared by video from the Hill County Detention Center, where he is being held on $500,000 bail on a deliberate homicide charge. He was joined on the call by his counsel, Stephanie McKnight.
Johnson affirmed his not guilty plea from the original trial after being advised of his rights.
County Attorney Karen Alley advised the Court that the Attorney General’s Office will be entering an appearance in the case, and asked that the trial begin no sooner than February 2021. The trial is expected to last between one to two weeks.
Cuffe informed the parties that the trial will take place in late May or early June.
In the original case, the jury was unable to come to an agreement on the deliberate homicide charge, and instead convicted him of a negligent homicide charge that prosecutors added during the trial.
Johnson was sentenced to 50 years, 10 suspended on the negligent homicide charge. He was given an additional two years for using a weapon in the offense.
Earlier this month, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that a “reversible error,” was committed in the case in Hill County District Court, “when it allowed the jury unrestricted access to the State’s audio and video exhibits,” and vacated the ruling and ordered a new trial.
