BELFAST — A man charged with murder in relation to the March 15 shooting death of Shane Sauer has been scheduled to stand trial in April 2020, should the case not be resolved between now and then.

Austin McDevitt, 22, of Morrill, was arraigned for murder in Waldo County Superior Court June 6, where he pleaded not guilty.

McDevitt is alleged to have shot his then-girlfriend’s ex seven times when he emptied his gun at the man after the two scuffled in the early morning hours.  

Attorney’s for McDevitt filed a Motion to Suppress May 16, attempting to have McDevitt’s interviews with detectives from when he turned himself in the day after the shooting suppressed, claiming that they were not voluntarily given and McDevitt was not properly Mirandized.

McDevitt reportedly admitted guilt in an interview with detectives, stating among other things that Sauer was standing 20-plus feet away from him at the time he began firing.  

A Scheduling Order for the case was given June 6, with a deadline for the State to provide McDevitt’s legal team with all remaining discovery by Aug. 9.

Any expert witnesses McDevitt plans to call at trial must be designated by Aug. 16, along with the subject matter the expert is going to testify about and the substance of the facts, and summary for each opinion must also be submitted by this time.

A status conference has been scheduled for Aug. 26. The deadline for the state to designate any expert witness they expect to call at trial is Sept. 20, with the same facts required as those expected of the defense.

McDevitt’s last expected court date of the year is October 28, when a hearing for the pending motion to suppress and potentially any other pretrial motions not yet filed.

If a deal cannot be reached, jury selection is set to begin April 8, with a trial expected to last from April 27 - May 1.

It is noted on the Scheduling Order that “if requested by the parties, the court will endeavor to arrange for a judicial settlement conference sometime in the month of March 2020.

McDevitt was ordered to undergo psychiatric testing, which was scheduled for June 12 at the Offices of the State Forensic Service, Riverview Psychiatric Center.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com