Man Freed After 18 Years in Prison for Best Friend’s Murder

A man has been freed pending a new trial after spending 18 years in prison in the shooting death of his best friend in northwestern Montana.

The Missoulian reports District Judge James Wheelis ordered Richard Raugust released on his own recognizance Friday.

Last month, Wheelis overturned Raugust's deliberate homicide conviction and ordered a new trial in the 1997 death of Joseph Tash.

The judge ruled that evidence was withheld during the original trial that could have led to a different outcome.

Raugust had been serving a life sentence. He has steadfastly denied killing his friend and said he was not at the camper trailer where Tash was shot.

Raugust was released to live in Missoula during a bond hearing held in Thompson Falls.