Montana Supreme Court orders new trial for Helena man convicted of attempted homicide

A Helena man serving a 100-year sentence is getting a new trial after the Montana Supreme Court ruled the lower district court erred when handling witness testimony in his 2023 attempted homicide trial.

Jory Jerae Songer, who was 22 at the time he was charged in August 2022, was convicted of two felony counts of attempted deliberate homicide and assault with a weapon.

According to the Montana Supreme Court opinion published Sept. 2, three issues were cited on an appeal filed by defense attorney Nicholas K. Brooke.

1. Did the district court err by allowing a witness to testify via video without a demonstration of the witness's unavailability?
2. Did the district court err by denying the motion to suppress evidence discovered in the backpack because the original stop was not supported by particularized suspicion?
3. Did the district court err by denying the motion to substitute counsel?

The Montana Supreme Court documents state the district court abused its discretion by granting a video deposition motion.

During the trial, documents noted a witness testimony was requested via video due to the witness claiming they received threats from within the jail and would be unavailable in person due to a scheduling methamphetamine addiction treatment in Billings.

Prosecutors did not provide adequate information on the record proving the witness's unavailability, documents state.

The Montana Supreme Court opinion states the district court did not err in denying a motion for new counsel despite Songer and his then-defense counsel Steven Scott agreeing their relationship was irreparable.

The district court also did not err in suppressing information and observations related to a backpack search saying it was a part of a probationary search, the opinion states.

Although two of the three issues were deemed correct, "The state concede(d) reversible error under issue one."

Court documents filed in 2022 state Helena Police officers responded to calls reporting multiple gunshots on Aug. 18, 2022. Officers found two men shot, one in the thigh and the other in the forearm.

They were transported to the hospital. Officers found six .40-caliber shells on the ground, documents state.

Police had received a call four days prior reporting a stolen car. This car was later seen in the surveillance footage on the night of the incident.

According to court documents, the timing of the shooting and independent witness statements aligned with the findings that Songer was the shooter on that night. At one point he told authorities the shooting “wasn’t planned” and admitted to using drugs that day. Songer was served an arrest warrant at the Lewis and Clark County Detention Center, where he was already in custody for another incident. 

He received the maximum sentence by Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan on July 19, 2023.

Songer was given new dates Wednesday in a status hearing before Menahan and had a trial date set for 9 a.m. Feb. 23. He remains incarcerated.