Judge declines to dismiss murder case

SANDPOINT — A district judge denied motions Thursday to dismiss the first-degree murder and grand theft charges pending against Keith Allen Brown.

Defense attorneys representing the former Priest Lake resident argue potentially exculpatory evidence was irretrievably lost when the home Brown was living in was destroyed by the landowner. They further argued the case should be dismissed because the evidence presented to a judge at a preliminary hearing was insufficient to warrant Brown’s trial.

Brown, 47, is charged in the killing of Leslie Carlton Breaw, who died of a gunshot wound to the face fired from a .22-caliber rifle. The state alleges the killing happened on Jan. 23, 2007. Breaw’s body was discovered almost two months later in the woods adjacent to his Coolin property.

Tyrah Brea Brown, Keith Brown’s 26-year-old wife, was also implicated in the killing and both are charged with murder and grand theft by possession of stolen property, a $56,000 check which belonged to Breaw, 48.

At the time of the killing, the couple was living in one of the homes on Breaw’s property. The Browns allegedly fled to Florida, where they were apprehended.

Keith Brown has maintained Breaw drew first blood by shooting him in the leg with a .22-rifle during a confrontation over derogatory remarks Breaw allegedly made about Tyrah Brown. He has also accused Breaw of sexually assaulting his wife.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson said possible blood evidence supporting Keith Brown’s claim was destroyed when Breaw’s heirs had the home the Browns were living in razed. A woodpile where the weapons were discarded was also removed once the guns were recovered.

Robertson acknowledged the evidence’s destruction was not done in bad faith, but it did deny her client’s right to due process because the defense was effectively denied access to evidence the residence might have held.

Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Louis Marshall countered that a prior public defender who represented Keith Brown would have had access to the home before it was demolished.

“They clearly had an opportunity to go up there,” he said.

Chief Deputy Public Defender Janet Whitney, meanwhile, took issue with the evidence presented at Keith Brown’s preliminary hearing. In that proceeding, a judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to justify allegations that Breaw’s slaying was premeditated and he participated in the theft.

But Whitney said the disparaging remarks about Tyrah Brown, combined with the sexual abuse allegations, could have caused Keith Brown to suddenly open fire on Breaw in the heat of passion, which would constitute involuntary manslaughter.

Whitney added that the evidence relating to the theft charge tended to show Keith Brown was an after-the-fact accessory to the crime. Testimony at the prelim indicated Tyrah Brown opened the account and Keith Brown was later added to it.

“There’s no indication he knew the money was stolen,” Whitney said.

Judge Fred Gibler, however, said Keith Brown’s later addition to the account did not prove he was not involved in the planning of the theft. Moreover, Keith Brown was found to be in possession of funds derived from the stolen escrow check, the judge said.

Gibler also noted that Keith Brown confessed to shooting Breaw, which suggested premeditation. Brown also later changed his story and said the shooting was an accident, which called his credibility into question, Gibler said.

Additionally, Gibler said the physical evidence indicates the Breaw and Keith Brown were facing each other when the gun was fired.

“It can be stated the decedent saw it coming,” Gibler said.

Gibler ultimately denied to motions to dismiss.

Although the motions relate potential defense theories in the case, Robertson emphasized after the hearing that they are not necessarily theories which will be promoted at trial.

“We’re not ready to divulge what our theory of the case is at this point,” she said.