DNA evidence stays in, homicide trial delayed

The trial of a former Absarokee man accused of a 2013 negligent homicide that had been scheduled to start this week was delayed at the request of prosecutors due to a recently filed “alibi defense.”
Additionally, a judge on Tuesday denied a defense motion to suppress evidence found on defendant Michael Holtz’s car, which prosecutors allege contains the DNA of victim Forest Dana.
Holtz, 23, is charged with the negligent homicide of then 27-year-old Dana in the early morning hours of July 28, 2013.
Dana was found by family members in the alley directly behind their home.
A medical examiner determined that Dana was killed when his spinal cord was severed as the result of being run over by a vehicle, according to court documents.

Trial Delay
Stillwater County Attorney Nancy Rohde filed a motion to vacate the trial date on Dec. 4, citing the newly raised alibi defense.
“As common sense should suggest, it is obvious and apparent that the state will require additional time to research, investigate and prepare argument for this newly-raised alibi defense,” Rohde wrote in the motion.
In a court document filed on Nov. 3 by defense attorney Vern Woodward, an additional witness was added to the trial list to include Ron Cummins, who is Woodward’s investigator. Information from Cummins supporting an alibi defense was given to prosecutors and lead law enforcement in the case on Oct. 31, 2015, according to court documents. Other evidence supporting the alibi “consists primarily of the security video of the 5 Spot Bar,” according to court documents.

DNA Evidence In
Woodard had sought to have all evidence seized from Holtz’s car suppressed because investigators did not have probable cause to get the search warrant because they did not have anything that legally indicated evidence from the alleged crime would be found on or in the vehicle. Additionally, Woodard argued that at least seven different witnesses provided seven different descriptions of the car they saw driving that night.
In his ruling, Jones wrote that those multiple descriptions were in fact similar and that when establishing proper probable cause for a search warrant, those descriptions must be considered together as a whole and not individually.
“Based on the totality of circumstances as set forth in the Application for Search Warrant, the Court concludes that the application established the existence of at least a ‘fair probability’ that contraband or evidence related to the homicide of Forest Dana would be found in or on Holtz’s Mazda Protege,” Jones wrote.
Case
Authorities contend DNA evidence links Holtz to the killing, as well as multiple witness statements who told investigators they saw Holtz, or a vehicle matching the description of the one he drives, speeding down the alley and elsewhere that night, according to court documents.
Holtz is also charged with one count of tampering or fabricating physical evidence by allegedly crashing his car to cause additional damage.
He was arrested and pleaded not guilty to both counts in July 2014. He is free on $250,000 bond. Under a joint stipulation between prosecutors and the defense, the trial will be held in Carbon County. The case was jointly investigated by the sheriff’s office and the state’s Criminal Investigations Bureau (CIB). Assistant Attorney General Joel Thompson is also co-prosecuting the case.