UPDATE: Judge extends time for indictment of man accused of helping Dayton mass shooter

Attorney Nick Gounaris, left, talks with U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman after an Aug. 14 hearing in Federal Court for Gounaris’s client Ethan Kollie, who was charged with lying on a federal firearms form. Kollie was a friend of the Oregon District shooter. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

Attorney Nick Gounaris, left, talks with U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman after an Aug. 14 hearing in Federal Court for Gounaris’s client Ethan Kollie, who was charged with lying on a federal firearms form. Kollie was a friend of the Oregon District shooter. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

A U.S. magistrate granted a motion giving prosecutors more time to pursue an indictment of Ethan Kollie, the Kettering man who is the only person to face criminal charges so far in an investigation of Dayton’s Aug. 4 mass shooting.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Michael Newman said U.S. attorneys must file an indictment or bill of information against Kollie by Oct. 8, extending by 30 days the original deadline.

Newman wrote that failing to extend the deadline “would deny counsel for the defendant and the attorney for the United States (the prosecutor) the reasonable time necessary for effective preparation.”

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Newman’s order was in response to a joint motion, also filed Tuesday, by both prosecutors and defense counsel.

Investigators have identified Kollie as having kept weapons and body armor for the Bellbrook man police have said is responsible for the Oregon District mass shootings. But they say there is no evidence that Kollie helped plan the mass shooting, in which 10 people were killed, including the shooter.

Kollie faces federal charges of possession of a firearm by an unlawful user/addict of a controlled substance and making a false statement regarding firearms.

RELATEDUPDATE: Attorneys move for release of man accused of helping Dayton mass shooter

Earlier this month, Newman ordered Kollie detained in jail without bond before a trial, citing a history of drug use and mental health issues identified in a pre-trial assessment.

On Friday, defense attorney Nick Gounaris moved for a hearing on his motion to revoke Kollie’s detention order, arguing that the court should consider “all reasonable alternatives” to detention.

“The government alleges that Mr. Kollie made a false statement on a firearm application and that he was in possession of a firearm by an unlawful user,” the filing states. “Neither offense requires a mandatory prison sentence with a conviction.”

If granted, a hearing would consider a bond and other conditions for Kollie’s release.

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