Sanchez trial begins Monday in Billings

The deliberate homicide trial of Adam Sanchez Jr., 41, is scheduled to begin Monday at the Yellowstone County Courthouse in Billings. Court records show 130 potential jurors were expected to receive the call for jury duty in this case, and 100 of them will sit through the selection process. This is a timeline of the case as it has progressed.

Aug. 14, 2014: Deputy Joseph Dunn killed during high-speed chase.

Deputy Joseph Dunn, 33, was killed near Belt during a high-speed chase east of Great Falls. Court documents say he was attempting to deploy stop sticks across the roadway.

The charging document says the driver involved in the chase, later identified as Sanchez, struck Dunn with his vehicle on purpose.

Sheriff’s deputies and Montana Highway Patrol troopers were in pursuit of Sanchez at the time of Dunn’s death. Speeds reached in excess of 100 mph, court records say.

The chase began in Great Falls and reached as far as Geyser in Judith Basin County, where Sanchez allegedly turned around and was headed back toward the city when he struck Dunn.

Sanchez was ultimately apprehended in Black Eagle after continuing the pursuit.

Aug. 14, 2014: Bench warrant and verified application to revoke bond issued.

Sanchez was out on bond during the pursuit, awaiting sentencing on two criminal endangerment charges stemming from a November 2013 case involving an alleged attempted robbery and another high-speed chase after entering into a plea agreement with the state. That deal called for a probationary sentence.

He was originally charged with assault with a weapon, attempted robbery, five counts of criminal endangerment, fleeing from or eluding a peace officer and three drug charges.

A drug case stemming from April of 2013 was dismissed pending further investigation shortly after the July 29 change of plea hearing.

The own recognizance bond set at Sanchez’s change of plea hearing was revoked and a no bond bench warrant was issued.

Aug. 16, 2014: Hospital bail hearing.

A hearing was held at Benefis Health System, where District Judge Greg Pinski set bail at $2 million on the bench warrant. Sanchez was hospitalized after his arrest because of meth toxicity. According to court documents, Sanchez said he was under the influence of bath salts during the chase.

Pinski signed an order that day establishing that upon his discharge from Benefis, Sanchez be transported to the Chouteau County Jail. The Cascade County Detention Center is operated by the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office, and policy dictates Sanchez could not be detained by the sheriff’s office during the pending matter involving the death of a CCSO deputy.

Aug. 21, 2014: Initial appearance in Chouteau County.

Sanchez made his initial court appearance on the deliberate homicide charge. His total bail amount was set at $5 million, with the amount on the deliberate homicide charge set at $3 million and $2 million previously set for the bench warrant.

Aug. 29, 2014: More charges filed against Sanchez.

Sanchez made an initial court appearance on the additional charges of assault with a weapon, assault on a peace officer and two counts of criminal endangerment, all felonies. Sanchez appeared in Fort Benton before a Chouteau County judge to hear the charges.

The allegations connected to each charge are as follows, based on information from charging documents:

•Assault with a weapon for allegedly swerving toward Great Falls Police Officer Rick Brinka at the intersection of River Drive North and 25th Street during the pursuit.

•Assault on a peace officer for the reported injury to Great Falls Police Officer Clint Houston as officers attempted to subdue Sanchez. Houston was kneed in the face. One of his front teeth was chipped.

•Criminal endangerment for allegedly placing Jerry Gray at risk of death or serious bodily injury. Sanchez nearly struck Gray’s truck while speeding across the 15th Street Bridge.

•Criminal endangerment for allegedly placing an unknown motorist at risk of death or serious bodily injury. The driver, who was later identified, was seen in the area of 57th Street and 10th Avenue North on law enforcement dashboard camera footage.

Sept. 5, 2014: Sanchez entered not guilty plea.

Sanchez, who was being held in the Chouteau County jail in Fort Benton, appeared via video in front of Judge Dirk Sandefur, who is presiding over the case, and pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide, assault with a weapon, assault on a peace officer and two counts of criminal endangerment.

Sept. 9, 2014: Sanchez sentenced for 2013 chase.

Sanchez received 20 years in the Montana State Prison for guilty pleas made in the November 2013 case involving an armed robbery and chase in November 2013. District Judge Kenneth Neill ordered Sanchez serve 10 years without the possibility of parole on each criminal endangerment count, the maximum penalty allowed by law, to run consecutively.

Dec. 1, 2014: Change of venue motion filed.

“The defendant’s ability to achieve a fair trial in Cascade County has been greatly affected due to the fact that the victim was a Cascade County sheriff’s deputy and the first to be killed in active duty in decades. His death has been memorialized by not only the local press, but by countless community organizations and law enforcement agencies,” public defender Nichole Lovrich wrote in her supporting brief.

She also noted that discussion of Sanchez’s criminal history was “intertwined” in the events and efforts honoring Dunn and his family.

Jan. 20, 2015: Change of venue granted.

The judicial order was issued to move the trial to Yellowstone County with a start date of Sept. 28. The state stipulated to the defense’s request for the move in order to grant Sanchez the opportunity to receive a fair trial. The state agreed that finding impartial jurors in Cascade County would be difficult.

March 11, 2015: State amends deliberate homicide charge.

The state modified the deliberate homicide charge to encompass the “felony murder rule,” meaning Sanchez was specifically accused of causing Dunn’s death during the commission of a forcible felony, namely assault with a weapon. The other felony charges of assault with a weapon, assault on a peace officer and two counts of criminal endangerment remained unchanged.

April 20, 2015: Sanchez requests new attorneys.

Sanchez filed a motion for substitution of counsel and wrote a letter to Montana’s chief public defender, voicing complaints that his court-appointed lawyers, Tom Bartleson and Nichole Lovrich, were slow to respond to his correspondence by mail, have only called him twice and have not provided an adequate amount of information about his case.

Sanchez argued in the brief that they ignored PTSD as a possible defense strategy, claiming it could support his belief that pulling over would have put him in danger at the hands of law enforcement. The defendant further claimed in the documents that one of the attorneys told him “the County Attorney needs to make a good show of my trial because an officer died.”

May 1, 2015: Substitution of counsel hearing.

Sanchez was transported from MSP to Great Falls, where he told Sandefur that he changed his mind about needing new lawyers. “A lot of it was a lack of communication,” Sanchez said in court.

June 24, 2015: Pre-trial motions hearing.

Sanchez was transferred from MSP to attend the hearing, during which decisions were made about what information could be shared with the jury and what couldn’t.

Sandefur ruled that the state’s decision to amend the deliberate homicide charge to include the “felony murder rule” would be kept from the jury. The defense did not object. The judge also ruled that the lesser-included offense of negligent homicide does not apply under the felony murder rule charge and therefore could not be included with jury instructions. Sandefur also decided that admissions made by Sanchez during his change of plea hearing an unrelated but similar case last July, before Dunn’s death, would not be admissible in court.

Sept. 16, 2015: Criminal endangerment charge amended.

The state files an amended charging document specifically addressing one of the criminal endangerment charges.

The identity of the driver of a vehicle being driven in the area of 57th Street and 10th Avenue North was discovered. According to the document, Sanchez was seen running a red light at that intersection on law enforcement dashboard camera footage.

“The police reviewed the evidence and found that Sanchez had placed the (family name)’s daughter S.D. — an 8-day-old baby — at risk of death or serious bodily injury through his dangerous driving behavior,” the document reads.

Sept. 22, 2015: Stipulated evidence list filed.

Both parties involved in the case agreed to the items each side plans to submit into evidence during the trial. (See box.)

15 exhibits of evidence to be presented at the Sanchez trial

A selection of state exhibits on the list:

•18 photos of the defendant taken at the emergency room.

•34 photos of the area where Dunn was killed.

•374 stills taken from videos.

•Various diagrams and maps.

•Dunn’s uniform.

•Dunn’s stop sticks that were run over.

•Section of Officer Brinka’s stop sticks.

•Bag of methamphetamine found in the car Sanchez was driving.

•Knife found in the car Sanchez was driving.

•Pieces of the car Sanchez was driving.

The five defense exhibits on the list:

•A set of Exemplar stop sticks.

•The instructional DVD and manual for the stop sticks provided during discovery.

•52 photos taken by one law enforcement officer.

•Various photos, diagrams and videos.

•Video taken from a patrol vehicle.