Sterling Brown trial moved to 2025

Tom Lawrence

Special to the Nation's Center News

BILLINGS, Mont. - A third trial date has been set for Sterling Brown, the Camp Crook man charged with murdering a Montana man. Brown, who has been charged with murdering Isaac Carrier at his Fallon, Mont., home on Jan. 23, 2023, is now set for trial on Aug. 11-22, 2025. The case was originally set for March and then scheduled to start on Sept. 30, but it has been pushed back once again.

In addition, the trial has been moved from Prairie County to Yellowstone County, where 13th District Judge Jessica Fehr of Billings is based. A status hearing was held in Billings on Friday, and Fehr granted a motion from the defense to move the trial. But Prairie County's attorney and clerk of courts will still be involved.

"The new judge granted the defense motion to change venue, and ordered that venue (jury pool and trial location) will all be Yellowstone County," said Prairie County Attorney Daniel Rice, a member of the prosecution team.

"This is the first Prairie County case during my tenure as county attorney where venue has been challenged or changed. It isn't uncommon to have another judge cover a conflict case; however, this is the first change of venue that Prairie County has seen in over a decade. That said, the state certainly respects Judge Fehr's decision on the venue issue."

Brown has been represented by lawyers Lance Jasper and Jordan Kilby, both of Reep, Bell & Jasper, a Missoula, Mont., law firm. Kilby has left the case, but lawyers Jenna Lyons, who works for the same firm, and Forrest Crowl and Matthew Hayhurst of the Missoula law firm Boone Karlberg have joined the defense team. Jasper has not returned calls seeking comments.

Montana Assistant Attorneys General Meghann Paddock and Dan Guzynski are prosecuting the case along with Rice. Rice said the sheer number of lawyers was a factor in setting a trial date for late summer 2025.

"The court is pretty booked up, and there are seven attorneys on the case now, so ... schedules. The judge was looking at June and July also, but we couldn't line up dates for everyone until August," he said.

"Plea agreements are always possible, but discussions aren't likely until the numerous pending motions have been ruled on by the court. I believe the next motions hearing is in February. So, it'll be a while."

Brown is facing five charges in connection with Carrier's death. Prosecutors say a bitter custody dispute between Brown's wife Katie Bivens and Carrier, her ex-husband, led to the crime. Charging documents allege Brown drove to Fallon, Mont., on Jan. 23, 2023, entered Carrier's unlocked apartment and shot him in the back of the head, killing him.

According to the charges, Brown then poured gasoline on Carrier and in the apartment before setting it on fire. He then drove back to South Dakota along with Jake Kenneth Lee Burghduff of Ludlow, according to charging documents. Brown maintains his innocence. He has been charged with deliberate homicide, arson, and three counts of endangerment for endangering the lives of three other residents of the small apartment building where Carrier lived, which was badly damaged in the fire.

Fehr is the third judge assigned to the case. On July 1, Jasper filed asking Seventh District Judge Olivia Rieger to be replaced. He noted Rieger had handled the divorce and child custody proceedings between Bivens and Carrier and presided over Burghduff 's trial. Before the Montana Supreme Court could act, Rieger willingly recused herself on July 10.

On July 30, she selected District 22 Judge Matthew Wald of Lodge Grass to hear the case. But on Aug. 8, the prosecution objected to Wald without citing a reason, as is allowed after an appointment, and he was removed from the case. Rieger selected Fehr on Aug. 14. Prairie County Clerk of Courts Shari Robertson said Fehr's busy schedule did not allow the trial to start as planned. Carrier has been dead for more than a year and a half.

The legal process has dragged on since Brown and Burghduff were arrested, and motions and filings have poured into the court. On Aug. 23, 2023, Burghduff was found guilty of deliberate homicide by a Prairie County jury at the conclusion of a three-day trial held in Glendive, which has a larger courtroom than Terry.

Burghduff was arrested at the Spearfish, SD Police Department by Montana Division of Criminal Investigation agents on Feb. 7, 2023. He was initially charged with arson and tampering with evidence, but Judge Rieger dismissed those charges. He received a 15-year sentence, with 10 years suspended. Rieger placed Burghduff, 22, in the custody of the Montana Department of Corrections. He has been held in the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge since Dec. 21.

Brown was arrested at his family ranch on Feb. 8, 2023. South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation agents assisted Montana DCI agents in the arrest. Brown was held in the Meade County Jail in Sturgis between Feb. 8-14, 2023, according to Lawrence County Sheriff Pat West. He waived extradition and was transferred to Montana. Brown was released from the Dawson County Correctional Facility in Glendive, Mont., on Nov. 15, 2023, after his mother, Debra Kay Brown, posted a $1 million certificate of deposit to obtain her son's release. He was reportedly living in Superior, a small town in western Montana, near Jasper.

If convicted of all five offenses, Brown faces a sentence of up to 160 years - 100 years for deliberate homicide, with an additional 10 years for having used a firearm while committing a felony; 20 years for arson; and 10 years each for the criminal endangerment counts. Each offense also has a potential fine of $50,000, which totals $250,000. His trial is scheduled to start two years almost to the day that Burghduff went on trial.

Carrier's parents, Jackie and Chuck Carrier, his sister Toni Riley and his brother William Carrier, all who live in Missouri, are in contact with the Montana Attorney General's Office, Rice said. They all provided victim's statements during Burghduff 's sentencing, and Jackie and Chuck Carrier vowed to return to South Dakota for Brown's trial. For the third time, they have a date for those proceedings.