11-year-old denies homicide allegations

An 11-year-old Kalispell boy charged in connection with the shooting death of his father has denied the mitigated deliberate homicide allegations against him.

Prosecutors allege the boy, Joshua Patrick Gretsch, walked into his bedroom, got a double-barreled 20-gauge shotgun, and twice fired it at his 47-year-old father, Patrick Gretsch.

But, during a hearing Monday in Flathead County District Court, the boy's attorneys asked the court to enter denials to the allegations on their client's behalf.

His trial is scheduled for the August jury term.

Also during Monday's hearing, public defenders Christina Larsen and Eric Olson asked Judge Ted Lympus to send Joshua Gretsch to a children's psychiatric hospital in Helena for evaluation and treatment.

An issue that needs to be resolved prior to trial is whether the boy is even competent to face the charges against him, Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan said. An evaluation to determine whether Joshua Gretsch is able to stand trial will be conducted separately from his diagnosis and any possible treatment in Helena.

"It's obviously an issue we're very attuned to," Olson told Lympus when the matter was raised.

Lympus approved Joshua Gretsch's transfer to the children's hospital in Helena pending trial. The boy, whose bail was set at $25,000, remains in custody.

Kalispell police responding to the Gretsch residence, located in the 300 block of College Avenue, found Patrick Gretsch's body lying on the living room floor shortly after 6 p.m. on May 4. The shotgun, with one shell in the barrel, was found lying nearby on a couch cushion.

According to court documents, Gretsch first fired at his father in the hallway of the family's trailer home, but missed and hit the hallway ceiling. The second shot struck his father in the chest.

Investigators believe the shooting occurred during an argument Patrick Gretsch was having with his wife.

Joshua Gretsch's mother told police at the scene her son shot his father because he didn't want her to get hurt anymore, according to officers' statements included in the court records.

"Josh didn't mean to do it, he was just trying to keep me from getting beat up again," she reportedly said.

According to an affidavit of probable cause briefly referred to during the boy's probable cause hearing, Joshua Gretsch has not admitted to pulling the trigger.

Court papers say Gretsch, who has had no prior contact with Youth Court services, is cognitively delayed.

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