The judge overseeing a Lewiston murder trial will consider a defense motion to allow the suspect to testify during his upcoming trial.
James Brashear is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of John Mast in the Rosauers parking lot in February 2021. The trial is set for July 5th.
The defense attorney argued that Brashear has a constitutional right to defend himself in court and offer testimony on his state of mind and how it was influenced by what he observed and was told concerning the victim.
Mast was accused by his ex-wife, of sexually abusing his children, but no charges were filed and a judge ordered a visitation. Mast was picking up his children for the visitation when he was allegedly shot by Brashear, who is the children’s maternal grandfather. According to court documents, Brashear allegedly admitted to the police he killed Mast.
Prosectors argued self-defense and the defense of others did not apply in this case as Mast had no weapon and his children were not present. Prosecutors also argued that case law prohibits the defense from making allegations about Mast, adding that allowing testimony concerning the allegations against Mast could condone vigilantism and make the jury think the killing was justified and create prejudice against the victim.
The defense attorney asked if he could provide briefings on what the witnesses plan on saying to aid the judge in making a decision as well as the prosecution for any future objections before or at the trial.
After no objection from prosecutors, the judge set a deadline of May 27th to have the briefing in, which would give the state two weeks to respond and reconvene June 13th. (Lewiston Tribune)
