Morgan County: Man Accused of Shooting Into Occupied Vehicle Arrested. Montgomery County, Alabama — Both Brian Mann and John Legg, who are accused in two different Morgan County crimes, showed up in court on Monday.
Legg faces charges for the 2020 murders of seven persons in Morgan County. Additionally, Morgan County prosecutors have declared that, should Legg be found guilty, they will pursue the death penalty.
Cullman County agencies held a news conference regarding the surge in traffic accidents and fatalities, saying that “one fatal crash is too many.”
In order to determine how to proceed with assessing if Legg is mentally “competent” to stand trial in the case, Legg appeared in court on Monday for a status hearing.
Legg’s lawyers contend that he is incapable to stand trial due to a serious mental disorder. According to court documents, Legg has had a mental health evaluation and has been deemed competent by medical professionals.
Since his lawyers declined a competency trial by jury during Monday’s hearing, Morgan County Circuit Judge Stephen Brown will have the final say in the matter.
Judge Brown stated that he would “take under advisement” the findings of the mental health evaluation. Additionally, Brown stated that he will not schedule a trial until he is certain of the following steps.
In August, Legg’s co-defendant Fred Rogers was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release.
Morgan County has charged Brian Mann, a chiropractor from Decatur, with attempted murder. He was detained in September 2022 on suspicion of poisoning his wife with lead from a building project.
On Monday, he had a status hearing. Mann’s lawyers requested that the judge modify his bond arrangement at the hearing.
At the moment, he must turn himself in every weekend and spend the night behind bars. His lawyers contended that Mann is not a flight risk because he has been in compliance with this requirement for over a year.
To make sure Mann stays in Morgan County, they requested the judge to think about providing him with a GPS tracking device instead. According to the attorneys, the tracking tool would be a watch that could follow Mann’s whereabouts in real time. Additionally, if Mann left the specified radius or broke the no-contact order with the victim in the case, the watch would instantly initiate a 9-1-1 call.
Charles Elliott, the judge, stated that he is “inclined” to grant this motion. The documents must be formally filed, though.
After Mann’s attorneys questioned the reliability of crucial evidence in the case, the trial date was rescheduled from November to March 3, 2025. Mann had pled not guilty in October.