Spang pleads not guilty

POLSON — A teen accused of murder had his bail set at $1 million last Wednesday after almost three weeks in jail without a given bond.

Aaron Jess Spang, 18, pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide, a felony, in connection with the Nov. 27 death of Frank He Does It. He also pleaded not guilty to a felony charge of criminal possession of dangerous drugs.

Spang’s defense attorney Edmund Sheehy, Jr., asked for bail, which is a requirement if the prosecution would not seek the death penalty in the case; a deliberate homicide conviction is eligible for capital punishment in the state of Montana.

Deputy Lake County attorney Mark Russell confirmed the state would not seek the death penalty before requesting the large bail amount. Sheehy, from the Office of the State Public Defender’s Major Crimes Unit in Helena, did not have a counter-recommendation, as Spang’s only possible residence is the home where the alleged murder took place. District Court Judge C.B. McNeil set a jury trial date for April 18, 2011.

Spang remains jailed after allegedly stabbing He Does It eight times with a 9-inch butcher knife. Court documents say Spang’s mother kicked him out of the apartment the three shared after discovering marijuana plants growing in his bedroom on Nov. 26.

Spang allegedly sneaked back into the residence through a window early the next morning and started fighting with He Does It, eventually retrieving a knife and stabbing the 32-year-old victim. Officers detained the suspect, covered in blood, near the front of the D Street apartment building.

If convicted, the deliberate homicide charge carries a sentence of 100 years or life in prison.