HASTINGS, Minn. -- Still handcuffed to a wheelchair but more outwardly alert than he was last month, Brian Fitch Sr. appeared in court Thursday for his arraignment on a grand jury indictment for the killing of a Mendota Heights police veteran.
Fitch did not enter a plea.
The brief appearance in Hastings set an Oct. 20 date for his next hearing, establishing a deadline for prosecutors to turn over to Fitch’s attorneys the considerable amount of evidence they’ve amassed in the case.
Fitch, 39, was indicted about two weeks ago by a rare multicounty grand jury on first-degree murder charges in the death of Mendota Heights Officer Scott Patrick.
He’s accused of fatally shooting Patrick, 47, during a routine traffic stop in West St. Paul July 30.
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Fitch was wanted on multiple warrants at the time and faced the prospect of years in prison if apprehended. Court documents say he told his ex-girlfriend the day before the incident that he’d shoot an officer if pulled over.
The grand jury also indicted him on three counts of attempted murder for shooting at police officers who arrested him July 30 after an extensive manhunt.
Fitch was shot eight times during the encounter, and was hospitalized for weeks before his first appearance in court.
On Thursday, he donned green prison-issue pants and a white T-shirt rather than the hospital gown he wore at his first appearance seven weeks ago. He did not speak, but looked around the room, made eye contact and at times nodded in affirmation of Dakota County District Judge Mary J. Theisen’s remarks.
It was a marked change from his slumped-over, distant demeanor from the last hearing that prompted his attorneys to question whether he was lucid enough to understand the proceedings.
Courtroom security was not as visibly on edge this time around. During Fitch’s first hearing, he was flanked by more than a half-dozen law enforcement officers who reacted to his every movement. On Thursday, two deputies -- a more standard arrangement -- were in the courtroom.
Lauri Traub, Fitch’s defense attorney, asked for and received a judge’s order for the preparation of a grand jury transcript.
She also asked the court to set a deadline for the prosecution to share discovery in the case. Thirteen days after the grand jury delivered its indictment, she said, “we haven’t received anything.”
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The materials were likely to be “voluminous,” she said, and she wanted to get started on it.
Prosecutor Phil Prokopowicz confirmed the evidence was indeed extensive - there are five three-ring binders filled with police reports, he said.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is reviewing those to make sure they don’t contain anything that would compromise other active investigations or identify citizens who came forward with information during the investigation, he said.
Traub then invoked Fitch’s right to demand a speedy omnibus hearing. Prosecutors are required to hand over discovery before then.
Fitch will remain held without bail for a probation violation. He’s incarcerated in the Oak Park Heights maximum-security prison to serve the balance of a sentence for a Washington County burglary.
Fitch was imprisoned on that conviction in June 2013. He was released into a drug-treatment program in February but was kicked out in May and slipped away from law enforcement supervision until his encounter with Patrick.
The Pioneer Press is a media partner with Forum News Service.
