A North Dakota man charged with murdering a teenager by running over him with his SUV will defend himself in criminal court, according to his lawyer.
Shannon Brandt, 41, struck Cayler Ellingson, 18, in an alleyway in McHenry with his 2003 Ford Explorer on Sept. 18, according to authorities.
“We have requested discovery and background information from the prosecutor. That process was set back a little bit due to the dismissal of the initial charges,” Brandt’s attorney Mark Friese said to Fox News after last appearing in court Thursday. “Once we receive and review discovery, I may be able to tell you more. For now, I can tell you it is Mr. Brandt’s intention to fully defend against the allegations pending in the open case file.”
CHARGES FOR MAN ACCUSED OF KILLING ‘REPUBLICAN EXTREMIST’ TEENAGER UPGRADED TO MURDER
From the moment Brandt called 911 after allegedly hitting Ellingson with his car, “Brandt made comments regarding the incident being intentional and not an accident,” according to the affidavit. At one point, he asked the dispatcher if he would go to prison. During his interactions with investigating officers, Brandt claimed Ellingson was part of a “Republican extremist group.”
However, North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Bryan Niewind said that after interviewing witnesses at the scene and those who knew Ellingson, there was “no evidence to support Brandt’s claim on the 911 call that Mr. Ellingson was a Republican extremist.”
Brandt was booked in the Stutsman County Correctional Center and released days later on a $50,000 bond. Judge James D. Hovey of the Southeast Judicial District subsequently issued a new warrant, obtained by the Washington Examiner, for his arrest when the vehicular homicide charge he faced was upgraded to murder. Brandt turned himself in and has been held at Stutsman on a $1 million bond since Sept. 30.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Brandt faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment without parole if found guilty of the murder charge. Should he receive the penalty of life with parole, he will still have to serve 30 years of his sentence before appearing before a parole board, according to the charging documents obtained by the Washington Examiner.
