No trial for boy in shooting

Prosecutors on Wednesday dismissed criminal endangerment charges against a 10-year-old boy responsible for the June shooting of a young Columbia Falls girl.

A psychological evaluation concluded that the boy, Devon Noah Brown of Marion, was not competent to fully understand the charge against him and was unable to assist in his own defense, according to defense attorney Sean D. Hinchey.

Hinchey requested the evaluation, which was conducted by a Missoula psychologist who has worked in the past with Flathead County Youth Court, after Brown denied the allegations during an August appearance in Flathead County District Court.

"It had just presented such a unique issue," said Hinchey, adding that the case got him thinking about whether his own 9-year-old could adequately participate in the justice system.

Prosecutors said they will not challenge the evaluation or seek a second opinion.

"We read the evaluation and agreed with it," Deputy County Attorney Lori A. Adams said.

Prosecutors dropped the

criminal endangerment charge prior to a Dec. 19 deadline to answer Hinchey's previously filed motion to dismiss the charge.

However, Adams is expected to file a Youth In Need of Intervention petition with Flathead County Youth Court. If granted, that petition would allow Youth Court officials to monitor Brown and provide him with counseling and other social services.

"I'm happy that this matter will be handled, but in the proper form," Hinchey said. "That way he can get some of the services he may need, but not through the criminal justice system."

Brown currently is living in a youth home.

Investigators believe that Brown was firing a .22-caliber rifle outside a Marion home June 8 when a bullet hit Kayla Oswald, now 8, in the stomach.

Brown and his older brother were playing with a bolt-action Savage Mark II .22-caliber rifle when the shooting occurred. Adults were not present.

Brown, then 9, initially told investigators he was shooting at a tree and Oswald had been hit by a ricochet. He later said the gun was pointed in Oswald's direction but it went off accidentally.

Oswald, who was picking flowers when she was shot, suffered serious internal injuries and spent almost a month in Kalispell and Seattle hospitals, where she underwent several surgeries.

In August, prosecutors filed criminal endangerment charges against Brown in Flathead County Youth Court under statutes governing juvenile offenses.

Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan has said that in some cases young children can be held legally accountable for their actions, but he also said that any possible penalty should be commensurate with a youth's age and the alleged offense.

Brown's age precluded his being charged as an adult, but there is no law in Montana establishing a minimum age at which a child may be prosecuted.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com