Kyle St. Martin-Smith, of Randall, pleaded not guilty Tuesday, to each of four criminal charges, including one count of first-degree attempted murder. St. Martin-Smith also faces one count of first-degree assault, second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, as well as a charge of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance.
The charges are related to a May incident at a Randall trailer park in which St. Martin-Smith allegedly shot a Little Falls resident, attacked him with a baseball bat and repeatedly threatened his life.
Adam T. Johnson, the attorney representing St. Martin-Smith, said he and his client intend to argue self-defense in regards to the incident. Johnson said that the defendant was protecting himself, his dwelling and another person, St. Martin-Smith’s girlfriend, who was present during the incident.
Johnson also successfully filed a motion to remove Judge Conrad Freeberg from the case. Instead, Judge Daniel Benson will preside over the court proceedings. Johnson declined to comment on the decision, stating that Freeberg’s removal was a private matter.
A trial date was also discussed, although Johnson added that it may not be necessary.
“At this point, I don’t know that a trial is certain,” Johnson said.
Assistant Attorney Todd Kosovich, representing the State, said he expected the eventual trial, if it does occur to last two weeks, given the number of witnesses and amount of evidence to be presented.
“It’s a serious and complicated case,” Kosovich said.
A pretrial date has been set for Jan. 20, 2016, at 1 p.m., with a trial to be scheduled no fewer than 30 days after that.