Stabbing suspect expected to enter plea on murder charge

Accused killer Zain Alexander Ray Glass is expected to be arraigned in Flathead County District Court on Thursday after a judge ruled him fit to proceed in late January.

Prosecutors filed a deliberate homicide charge against Glass, 24, in 2021 after the fatal Sept. 20 stabbing of Lukas Davis at a Columbia Falls home. Responding officers allegedly found Glass standing in his Dawn Drive yard with a knife.

Glass told investigators the stabbing was an accident, according to court documents.

But Glass was never arraigned on the charge, instead committed to the Montana State Hospital in November of that year after prosecutors and defense attorneys urged Judge Robert Allison to deem him unfit to proceed in his criminal case. An evaluation of Glass at the time found him “not capable of understanding the nature and object of the proceedings against him,” court documents said. 

Subsequent evaluations at the state hospital saw Glass diagnosed with schizophrenia, cannabis use disorder and stimulant use disorder, according to court documents. By August 2023, hospital personnel deemed Glass ready and able to take part in the case. 

But an evaluation done at the behest of his defense attorneys in September found Glass still “unable to assist in the preparation of his defense in a rational manner, even when stabilized on psychiatric medication,” court documents said. 

Following a Nov. 22 hearing that featured doctors from the state hospital as well as the defense’s doctor, Allison declared Glass fit to proceed. All of the experts, Allison wrote in his order, agreed that Glass understood his surroundings and had improved since 2022. 

“All indicated that he is coherent, able to hold conversations and discuss matters such as the weather, meals, historic events in a relatively linear fashion,” Allison wrote in his Jan. 31 order. “All agree that he can provide accurate and coherent responses to short questions that require concrete answers. All three doctors recognize, however, that the defendant is not articulate and has educational deficits that hinder his understanding and ability to communicate.”

Though the doctors disagreed on how well Glass understood the criminal proceedings and could work with his defense attorneys, Allison wrote that he found the evidence presented by the state hospital’s staff more compelling. 

And the defense’s evaluator determined that Glass knew he had two attorneys, could be called to testify in court and how to behave in court, Allison wrote. Glass understands he can take the case to trial or seek a plea agreement, according to Allison. 

“The defendant has this awareness and knowledge despite having limited and brief meetings with his current attorneys,” the judge wrote. “Based on his awareness at present, it is clear that the defendant has the ability to consult with his attorneys with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.”

Allison set Glass’ arraignment on the deliberate homicide charge for Feb. 29 several weeks after issuing the order. 

An argument between Davis and Glass’ sister in her bedroom allegedly preceded the 2022 stabbing. When Davis left the room, he came across Glass, who stabbed him multiple times, court documents said. 

Taken to Logan Health Medical Center, Davis subsequently succumbed to his wounds.

Glass remains in the county jail with bail set at $550,000.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.