Man pleads guilty

The Associated Press and The Daily Inter Lake

POLSON - A 20-year-old Bigfork man has pleaded guilty to deliberate homicide for shooting a man to death as he slept in his Ferndale home.

Ronald Petersen pleaded guilty to breaking into a house and shooting 24-year-old Clyde Wilson on Dec. 31, 2007.

The plea agreement, entered in District Court on Friday, recommends a 100-year prison term with no chance for parole.

Petersen was on leave from the Army at the time of the shooting. He was returned to Montana from Fort Bragg Army Base in North Carolina to face the charges.

Lake County Attorney Mitch Young would not elaborate on a motive. Petersen is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 4.

According to court documents, Wilson's girlfriend, 20-year-old Raney Frick, called 911 at about 5:30 a.m. Dec. 31 to report someone had just shot Wilson and fled the scene.

Frick told law officers she had fallen asleep watching movies in the living room the night before the shooting. Wilson reportedly was lying next to her.

Awakened by the sound of gunshots, Frick told police she saw an intruder standing in the room and then bolt through the back door.

Petersen later was arrested after a tip from Petersen's brother, Ryon Gates.

Gates told investigators Petersen confessed to the crime and described details about the shooting not released to the public. Petersen also showed Gates the gun he used.