9/11/13 - A forensic exam has found that a Howell man charged with open murder following a fatal shooting at a Brighton Township gun range last year is competent to stand trial. 20-year-old Jessce Lincon Stearn of Howell Township is being held without bond and also faces a felony firearms count in the June 2012 death of 21-year-old Charles Kimball at the Livingston Conservation and Sports Association gun range. A state forensic exam has found him competent to stand trial, and a preliminary exam conference has been scheduled for September 27th. Stearn told authorities his replica AK-47 had jammed and that when he tried to clear it, it misfired and hit Kimball in the head, killing him instantly. Afterward, authorities said they were unable to reproduce the weapon malfunction and that witness statements contradicted the claim that it was an accident. Stearn had pleaded guilty to a manslaughter charge originally filed by prosecutors because there was no evidence to support that he intended to kill Kimball. However, that all changed when new evidence in the case surfaced, reportedly statements Stearn made to fellow inmates in the Livingston County Jail that he had intentionally killed Kimball over an unpaid debt, resulting in the current charge of open murder. (TD)
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