BOZEMAN - On Tuesday, 18-year-old Gage Roush of West Yellowstone pleaded not guilty in Gallatin County District Court to a felony charge of assault on a minor related to the death of 12-year-old James Alex Hurley.
According to court documents, Roush was identified as the man seen striking Hurley with his hands and a wooden paddle in a video on the phone of James Sasser III, Hurley's 14-year-old uncle who is facing a deliberate homicide charge in the case.
Hurley's grandparents, James Sasser Jr. and Patricia Batts, also face homicide charges in the case, accused of the “systematic torture” that led to Hurley’s death.
Roush's bail was kept at $50,000. His next court date is a status conference set for April 21.
