Mediation in murder case

SANDPOINT — The first-degree murder case pending against Keith Allen Brown could be resolved through mediation rather than a trial, according to court documents.

First District Judge Fred Gibler has appointed a Post Falls attorney to mediate a potential resolution and approved the expenditure of $1,500 in public funds to cover mediation expenses.

The appointment followed a joint motion by Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall and Brown’s defense counsel, Sandpoint attorney Daniel Sheckler.

“The grounds for the foregoing motion are that mediation may yield a resolution to the above-entitled matter…” the attorney’s said in a stipulated motion filed on Tuesday.

Mediation talks with attorney Charles Lempesis are scheduled for Aug. 20, court records indicate.

Brown, 49, is accused of shooting Leslie Carlton Breaw to death near Breaw’s home in Coolin in January of 2007. Breaw, 48, died of a .22-caliber gunshot wound to the face.

Brown and his former wife, 28-year-old Tyrah Harding, fled the region after the shooting and were tracked to Fort Myers Beach, Fla. They were arrested several months after the slaying, the day after Breaw’s remains were discovered by a state forester.

The couple was charged with first-degree murder and grand theft by possession of stolen property. The latter offense stemmed from a $56,000 escrow check that belonged to Breaw.

In an agreement with the state, Harding pleaded guilty to accessory to second-degree murder and grand theft after serving nearly two years in jail awaiting trial.

Brown has steadfastly disputed the charges against him, contending that Breaw was shot accidentally during a struggle over the rifle. Brown paints Breaw as the aggressor in the altercation and maintains the money in question was owed to him for paralegal work he did on Breaw’s behalf.

The defense succeeded earlier this year in having Brown’s jury trial moved to Shoshone County because of extensive pretrial publicity. Brown’s eight-day jury trial is set for next month in Wallace.