BILLINGS, Mont. | Defense attorneys representing a Wyoming man charged with murdering a Montana couple on the Crow Indian Reservation are seeking the help of a lawyer specializing in death penalty cases.
Federal Defender Anthony Gallagher asked a judge to appoint Donald R. Knight of Littleton, Colorado to assist in the defense of 18-year-old Jesus Deniz Mendoza.
The move came after prosecutors sought a court order for the release of Mendoza’s substance abuse treatment records. Mendoza pleaded not guilty to the July 29 killings of Jason and Tana Shane.
“The potential role that use and/or abuse of substances played in the offenses is of paramount importance to a determination about the appropriate punishment to seek in this case,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek wrote in the request. She said the records sought cover past treatment, not ongoing treatment.
Authorities say the Shanes were shot after stopping to help Mendoza along a rural road near Pryor, Montana. Their daughter, 26-year-old Jorah Shane, was wounded while trying to run away.
Mendoza, of Worland, Wyoming, faces 12 criminal charges, including two counts of first degree murder, carjacking, attempted murder and multiple assault and firearms charges, according to court records.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters in August ordered defense attorneys to report on the results of a mental health evaluation for Mendoza by Oct. 5. No report has been filed with the court, and defense attorneys said earlier this month that Mendoza had not yet undergone the evaluation.
The requested order for the release of his substance abuse records would apply to the Highlands Behavioral Health Center in Denver; the Cowboy Youth Challenge in Guernsey, Wyoming; and three entities in Worland: the Wyoming Boys School, Cloud Peak Counseling Center and Washakie County School District No. 1.
Prosecutors said they tried to no avail to obtain the records directly from the agencies.
Mendoza’s attorneys have not taken a position on the request, according to court filings.
Under federal law, at least one of Mendoza’s attorneys in addition to the federal defenders must have experience in death penalty cases, according to Gallagher. Knight, the Colorado attorney, has represented defendants in capital cases in California, Colorado and Oklahoma, according to his website.
Knight also participated in several terrorism cases, including representing Yemeni cleric Sheik Mohammed Al-Moayad and bodyguard Mohammed Zayed on prison-related issues, according to his website. The pair was convicted a decade ago of providing support to al-Qaida, but their cases were overturned on appeal and they eventually pleaded guilty to lesser charges before being deported.