Attorneys want out of murder case
SANDPOINT — Attorneys representing accused murderer Keith Brown are seeking permission to withdraw from the case.
Bonner County Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson and Chief Deputy Public Defender Janet Whitney contend in court documents that Brown appears to be targeting them with an Idaho State Bar complaint for alleged negligence in representation.
As a result, Robertson and Whitney do not believe their attorney-client relationships can continue to exist, according to court filings.
The motion to withdraw is pending. It was filed as Robertson and Whitney were preparing to argue a motion to suppress key evidence in the Priest Lake murder case.
Brown asserts in court documents he is not pursuing a complaint. However, his wife and alleged accomplice in the murder, Tyrah Brea Brown, has put Robertson on notice she is pursuing a bar complaint on behalf of her husband, records show.
Keith Brown, 47, and Tyrah Brown, 26, are charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of 48-year-old Leslie Carlton Breaw, a Coolin man who befriended the couple.
Breaw was reported missing in February 2007 and his remains were discovered in the woods near his home the following month. He was shot in the face with a .22-caliber rifle and authorities believe he was killed on or about Jan. 23, 2007.
The Browns were apprehended in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., immediately after Breaw was found. Along with the murder charges, the couple is also charged with grand theft by possession of stolen property for allegedly depositing a $56,000 escrow check belonging to Breaw. Enhanced charges are being sought against Keith Brown because he used a firearm and has multiple felony convictions for drug and property crimes in the Northwest.
The couple has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The Browns are scheduled to be tried separately this summer.
In an 11-page letter addressing the public defenders’ request to withdraw, Keith Brown disputes he is planning to file a bar complaint, but goes on to list numerous complaints with his legal representation. He claims he’s been misled by public defenders on several occasions and has been kept in the dark about pretrial maneuvering.
Brown said he’s written more than 50 letters to the public defender’s office but received no responses. He adds that his defense investigator is prejudiced against him, and his counsel has filed motions without his prior approval or supporting briefs.
“My case has been harmed drastically by the in-actions of my defense team,” Keith Brown said in the April 24 letter to Judge John Patrick Luster.