About the only piece of evidence the prosecution didn’t have in the murder case against 20-year-old Patrick Fluker was an eyewitness testifying that he was seen shooting 29-year-old Tiffany Mendez in the head.A 33-year-old man serving a 55-year sentence for one murder and awaiting trial on another wanted to assist his court-appointed attorney with his defense Friday.
Allen Superior Court Judge John Surbeck would not allow Joseph A. Kast to serve as co-counsel with his attorney, William Lebrato, on a charge he murdered 85-year-old Claude Berkshire inside the man’s Juliet Avenue garage in June 2002.
Lebrato asked Surbeck to appoint mental health experts to examine Kast, announcing he plans to argue Kast suffered from a mental disease or defect at the time.
In July 2002, Kast fatally stabbed Huntington County building inspector Earl Bowman at a rural job site. Arrested shortly after the attack, Kast tested positive for methamphetamine and marijuana. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 55 years in prison, where he was until the new charges were filed.
