WINDOM -- More than 18 months after Howard Hokel of Odin was shot and killed at Fast Distributing in Mountain Lake, the man accused of his murder has pleaded not guilty in Cottonwood County District Court.
During an omnibus hearing on Tuesday, Douglas Jay Saunders, 32, of Odin, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. His attorney, Calvin Johnson, requested a jury trial, which will be set for sometime after Jan. 1, 2007.
Johnson estimated the trial would last three to four weeks. He confirmed to Judge Bruce Gross that he plans to use an insanity defense for his client.
Assistant Attorney General William Klumpp informed the judge that a new forensic expert for the state is needed. He asked that Saunders be re-evaluated by the new psychologist or psychiatrist on an inpatient basis in St. Peter.
The former forensic psychologist for the state, Dr. John Fabian, no longer works in that capacity. He had examined Saunders and found him competent to stand trial -- something the defense's forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Michael Farnsworth, disagreed with.
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Klumpp said whether Saunders' competency would come into question again was unclear to him at this point.
The attorneys for the prosecution and defense will confer to establish questions for a jury questionnaire before bringing it to Gross.
The court hearing was supposed to start at 1 p.m., and a courtroom filled with people waited until after 2 p.m. for the brief hearing, which lasted less than 15 minutes.
Family members and friends of both the victim and the defendant have followed the case closely, and the courtroom has been full for each legal proceeding.
