Murder hearing postponed

SANDPOINT — An evidentiary hearing to determine whether Bonner County Sheriff’s investigators misled a judge in a Priest Lake murder case was abruptly postponed on Wednesday.

The hearing had been on the court calendar for more than three months, but had to be rescheduled at the last minute because one of the investigators was unavailable because he is training with the U.S. Air Force Reserve

A new hearing date is pending.

District Judge Fred Gibler ordered a Franks hearing in May, after Keith Allen Brown’s defense counsel made a sufficient showing that Det. Tony Ingram withheld exculpatory evidence from a magistrate court judge who authorized an arrest warrant.

Wednesday’s Franks hearing would have cleared the way for Gibler to make a final determination on whether there was a reckless disregard for the truth. The hearing earns its name from a 1978 constitutional rights case in Delaware which went to U.S. Supreme Court.

If the defense prevails at the hearing, it could lead to the suppression of evidence gained during Brown’s arrest, which includes an alleged confession.

Brown, 48, is charged with the slaying of Leslie Carlton Breaw, who was shot to death within walking distance of his Coolin home in January 2007. An autopsy revealed Breaw, also 48, died of a .22-caliber gunshot wound to the head.

Brown, who remains jailed, insists he is innocent of murder. He maintains Breaw was shot accidentally in a tug of war over the weapon during a confrontation in which Breaw was the aggressor.

Brown and his now-estranged wife, Tyrah, were arrested several months later in Fort Myers Beach, Fla. Both suspects faced first-degree murder and felony theft charges, although Tyrah Brown later pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting murder in the second degree and grand theft by possession of stolen property through an agreement with the state.

Tyrah Brown, 27, was released after spending more than two years in custody while the case was pending. She has since filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.

Defense attorney Dan Sheckler argued this spring that Ingram omitted material information when seeking an arrest warrant from Judge Barbara Buchanan. Sheckler contends that Ingram disregarded witness statements concerning Keith Brown’s allegedly authorized use of Breaw’s financial transaction card and reports indicating Breaw was seen at Priest Lake after the transaction card was last used.