BELFAST — A Morrill man accused of knowing and intentional murder has argued to have the statements he made to police the day of the shooting suppressed from the case. 

Austin McDevitt, 22, is accused of murder in the March 18, shooting death of Shane Sauer.

Following a short confrontation between the two men, it is alleged that Austin McDevitt emptied his gun shooting at Sauer, 26, of Belfast. Sauer was struck in the stomach and head, among other areas, and was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. 

In the Motion to Suppress filed Oct. 15, Attorney Eric B. Morse moved to have the Court suppress as evidence against McDevitt in any forthcoming trial and any and all statements made by him to the Maine State Police detectives on or about March 15. 

There are four points of support given in the Motion, which read:

1. the statements were not voluntarily made; 
2. the Defendant was not properly advised of his Miranda Warnings; 
3. the statements were obtained in violation of Article I S6 of the Maine Constitution and the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution; and
4. the statements were obtained in violation of the Defendant’s Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel.  

Attorneys for McDevitt filed an Unopposed Motion to Extend Scheduling Order Deadlines Sept. 9, with a number of supporting reasons given, including that discovery remains ongoing, that counsel has not received the results from McDevitt’s mental health exam, and additional time is needed to thoroughly evaluate and consider expert witnesses. 

The Motion, which requested an additional 21 days for both the State and defense, was granted by Justice Robert Murray Sept. 18. 

A second Unopposed Motion to Extend Scheduling Order Deadlines was filed by McDevitt’s attorney Oct. 10, with McDevitt requesting an additional 21 days for both the Defendant’s and State’s respective expert witness designations. The second Motion was granted by Justice Murray Oct. 17. 

The new deadline for designating expert witnesses is Nov. 4 for the defense and Dec. 9 for the State. 

Prior to the extension, a June 6 scheduling order called for the defense to designate experts by Sept. 30, with the State’s deadline for expert designations given as Nov. 4. 

A hearing date for the Motion to Suppress was scheduled for Oct. 28.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com