Man pleads guilty to strangling neighbor

The Daily Inter Lake

An Evergreen man has been convicted of strangling his neighbor during an argument over damage to a fence.

Pursuant to a plea bargain, Michael Gerald Cuchine, 35, pleaded guilty Monday to negligent homicide.

Testifying in Flathead County District Court, Cuchine admitted to applying the lengthy choke hold that killed 47-year-old Steven Guy Maycumber after an argument in front of Maycumber's Evergreen home escalated into violence.

"I didn't mean to put him in a choke hold, just pull him away from that ax," Cuchine testified Monday. "I didn't mean to kill the guy, no. I was just defending myself."

In exchange for Cuchine's guilty plea to the lesser crime of negligent homicide, prosecutors dismissed a mitigated deliberate homicide charge and agreed to recommend that Cuchine be sentenced to 15 years to the Montana Department of Corrections with 10 years suspended.

The altercation began while Cuchine and Maycumber were discussing damage done to Maycumber's fence. Maycumber accused a third neighbor's children of ripping up a portion of his chain-link fence, which Cuchine believed the children couldn't have done, according to Cuchine's attorney, John O. Putikka.

"This is a sad case because this didn't have to happen," Putikka said. "Both parties were at fault for it."

Flathead County Sheriff's deputies responded to the May 26 fight - which occurred on the shoulder of U.S. 2 just north of Evergreen Drive - after a passing motorist called 911.

The motorist later told investigators she saw Cuchine with Maycumber in a choke hold with his left arm while he repeatedly punched Maycumber's head with his right fist.

A second witness told detectives Cuchine had Maycumber in a choke hold from behind and was punching Maycumber in the face nonstop. According to the witness, Maycumber appeared completely helpless and was not moving as Cuchine continued to choke and punch him.

State medical examiner Willie Kemp determined that Maycumber would have lost consciousness in three to four seconds while it would have been necessary to continue the choke hold for one to five minutes to cause death, according to court documents.

Cuchine testified Monday that he held Maycumber, who stood six inches taller and outweighed Cuchine by more than 100 pounds, in the choke hold for longer than was needed for self-defense.

"And that to me is essentially the basis for negligence," Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan said. "Cuchine maintained the choke hold and continued to beat on him mercilessly."

Corrigan added that, at some earlier point, Maycumber - who was seen by one witness pushing Cuchine out into traffic - was a willing participant.

Maycumber also suffered several cuts, bruises and some trauma in the fight, but strangulation was ruled the cause of death.

After the fight, Cuchine returned to his nearby residence, a trailer behind Maycumber's next-door-neighbor's house. Witnesses identified Cuchine and told deputies where he lived. He was arrested without incident.

In interviews with detectives, Cuchine said that he and Maycumber were arguing in Maycumber's yard when Maycumber struck him with a wood-splitting maul.

Cuchine, who had turned to walk away, was struck first and suffered injuries to his chest and arm from the maul, Putikka said. As the two men began to grapple, the maul was dropped or wrested away.

The fight had moved from Maycumber's yard to the side of U.S. 2, where Cuchine told investigators he struck Maycumber in the face, knocking him to the ground. Cuchine said he then "lost it" and began choking Maycumber with his forearm, according to court documents.

Emergency personnel from the Kalispell and Evergreen fire departments tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Maycumber, who died at the scene.

Cuchine's repeated references to self-defense prompted District Court Judge Stewart E. Stadler to hesitate in accepting his guilty plea, but eventually convicted Cuchine after determining the length of the choke hold met the standard for negligence.

Investigators and most of Maycumber's family are satisfied with the sentencing recommendation, Corrigan said. The judge presiding at Cuchine's Dec. 4 sentencing hearing is not obligated to observe the terms of the plea bargain.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com