PIQUA — No plea agreement in the works for the suspect in the Piqua High School fire and police said he also pointed a weapon at them.
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Grady Egerton appeared in court for about two minutes on Monday.
That short appearance provided some insight into his defense plan for his trial.
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Egerton’s lawyer submitted a not guilty plea by reason of insanity.
The jury will decide what they think about that plea at trial.
It centers around Egerton’s mental state at the time of the crimes he’s accused of.
At one point during Monday’s hearing, the judge asked prosecutors and the defense if they’d talked about possible resolutions before trial.
“We’re discussing the matter, and we do have a trial date set, so we’re working our way towards that date, Your Honor,” Kevin Lennen, Egerton’s defense lawyer, said.
As News Center 7 previously reported, Egerton’s lawyer withdrew his suggestion of incompetency.
Meaning he feels Egerton understands the court case against him and can help his lawyer in his defense.
The police body cam released last July shows police going to Egerton’s apartment to arrest him on a warrant for arson.
One of their body cameras fell to the ground.
It shows Egerton pointing a gun at officers.
Police then shot at Egerton.
No one was hit by the gunfire.
Police later said it turned out Egerton had a BB gun.
Police say surveillance video on July 1, 2024, shows Egerton throw a small propane tank at Piqua High School’s entrance, then drop a lit match in the trash can, starting a fire that made the tank explode.
Egerton headed out of court and back to jail Monday.
His trial is set for early next month.
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