Man Wants to go to Trial

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A man involved in a fatal shooting in southern Montana wants to go to trial, saying depression and other mental health problems caused him to involuntarily plead guilty.

The Billings Gazette reported Wednesday that 33-year-old Thomas Schifferns, of Red Lodge, has filed a motion to withdraw his plea in the Feb. 19, 2018, death of 63-year-old James McGregor. Schifferns says the shooting outside of Red Lodge was an accident involving “two very drunk individuals playing with a loaded gun.”

Prosecutors say he stole about $1,500 from McGregor, used a handgun during the theft and then threw the weapon in a snowbank. According to court documents, Schifferns told a woman he killed McGregor because he was “homeless and disrespectful.”

Schifferns pleaded guilty in March to deliberate homicide.

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Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com