Kalispell Man Sentenced to Prison for Deliberate Homicide
Leigh Garrett Medina, 46, was sentenced to 55 years for killing a man with a cement brick
By Maggie Dresser
A Kalispell man was sentenced Thursday to 55 years in the Montana State Prison after he admitted to fatally beating 67-year-old Paul David Kellenberger with a cement brick inside the victim’s eastside Kalispell home on July 15, 2019.
Leigh Garrett Medina, 46, originally entered a not guilty plea to a felony charge of deliberate homicide; however, he changed his plea three days into his trial last October following witness testimony implicating him in the violent murder.
Judge Dan Wilson presided over the sentencing hearing on Dec. 30 in Flathead County District Court, accepting the state’s sentencing recommendation and rejecting defense attorney Jay Reno’s request for a 55-year sentence with 30 years suspended. In doing so, Wilson cited Medina’s extensive criminal history stretching back 20 years, including a domestic violence conviction, a criminal endangerment conviction and a court-order violation in Washington. The court classified Medina’s risk category as “very high.”
“The court does find that Mr. Medina has accepted responsibility for his conduct … the court finds the defense amounted to the purposeful knowing and cruel killing of another human being without any showing that there was any justification for the act,” Wilson said.
The sentence included credit for 899 days that Medina served in custody of the Flathead County Sheriff’s office.
Medina’s mother attended the sentencing hearing and his sister watched virtually via Zoom.
During the hearing, Medina addressed the victim’s family, some who were present in court, to apologize.
“There’s no excuse for my actions,” Medina said. “Dave did not deserve to die in that fashion or manner. I have no excuse for this. I’ve suffered from drug use and I was severely delusional on this day. I can’t explain it any more than that. I apologize.”
According to charging documents, on July 15, 2019, Medina killed Kellenberger inside the victim’s home on Lenwood Lane in Kalispell after striking him repeatedly in the head with a cement brick. When law enforcement arrived, they found Kellenberger dead on the kitchen floor. Deputies spoke to several witnesses, including one who was in the room when Medina killed Kellenberger, and who said he tried to stop Medina.
Two witnesses said they saw Medina leave Kellenberger’s home shortly after the assault. Medina told them “don’t say anything” as he left the scene, records state. Law enforcement later traced Medina to a residence in Kalispell and observed blood on his clothing during an interview.