Soldier sentenced to 110 years for murder

POLSON - A soldier convicted of deliberate homicide in the murder of a Ferndale man has been sentenced to 110 years in prison.

During his sentencing hearing Monday morning in Lake County District Court, Ronald Lon Petersen, 20, showed no remorse for the Dec. 31, 2007, shooting death of Clyde Wilson, 24.

Petersen, who did not take the stand, called Wilson's death "collateral damage" when Lake County District Court Judge C.B. McNeil asked him if he had anything to say.

"I killed him because he was a child molester," said Petersen, who turned to face the members of Wilson's family gathered in the gallery.

"Your anger hurts no one but yourselves," he said.

Authorities had long been silent on what motivated Peterson - who apparently had never met his victim - to shoot Wilson four times as he slept next to his girlfriend and child.

But Lake County Attorney Mitch Young said Monday that Petersen incorrectly believes Wilson was responsible for dragging a 13-year-old girl into the woods and attempting to sexually assault her.

"There's absolutely no evidence to support that, and that's part of what makes Mr. Petersen's crime so egregious," Young said.

Investigators aren't convinced such an assault even occurred.

The 13-year-old girl, who reportedly made the allegations while she was angry with her mother for not returning home on time, at different times told investigators the perpetrator was Wilson, wasn't Wilson, and that she didn't know if it was Wilson or not, Young said.

And Wilson was at a dinner with friends and his family when the girl said the attempted sexual assault allegedly transpired, he added.

After the allegations came to light, Wilson was able to convince the father of the 13-year-old girl - whose parents told police they also didn't believe their daughter's story - of his innocence, according to Young.

However, the girl was a friend of the younger sister of the man Petersen reportedly stayed with while he was in Bigfork on leave from the U.S. Army.

Petersen "apparently decided that because the police weren't doing anything about this he would have to handle it himself," said Young, who has in the investigative file a letter that suggests Petersen had a "romantic interest" in the 13-year-old girl.

During testimony Monday, Wilson - a father of four young children - was described as a considerate, caring and generous man.

His mother, Dianne Wilson, told the court about a 2006 fishing trip in which her son jumped out of a boat to save a friend who had suffered a seizure and fallen into the water.

"I'm waiting for the time we don't have this hole in our hearts that hurts so bad," said Dianne Wilson. "I'm waiting for the day that just never comes."

The murder 'shattered our lives into pieces we can't even find or put together again," she said.

Wilson's brother Erik called the shooting an "execution."

"Ron Petersen committed this heinous crime in the most cowardly way possible," he said.

Prosecutors and defense attorneys reached a plea bargain recommending Petersen receive 100 years in prison with no restrictions on parole in exchange for his January guilty plea to deliberate homicide.

But on Monday, Judge McNeil added 10 years to Petersen's sentence for use of a firearm during commission of the crime.

Wilson's murder was committed in a 'senseless and cowardly manner," said McNeil, who called deliberate homicide the "most egregious crime" a person can perpetrate under Montana state code.

Petersen, of Bigfork, broke into Wilson's Meadow Creek Road cabin about 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, 2007, and shot him four times in the head and body with a semi-automatic pistol before fleeing the scene.

The first shot, to Wilson's head, appears to have killed him instantly. Forensic evidence suggests the last three shots struck Wilson after he was already dead, Young said.

According to court documents, Wilson's girlfriend, Raney Frick, told investigators she had fallen asleep watching movies the night before the shooting. Wilson reportedly was lying next to her, under covers, in the bed when the shooting occurred. Frick's infant, who was five months old at the time, was in a bassinet a few feet away.

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

Petersen was arrested after investigators received a tip from his brother, who told authorities Petersen confessed to the crime and described details about the shooting not released to the public.

Petersen also showed his brother the gun he used and said it belonged to Bigfork resident Zachary Forkin, 20.

Petersen was taken into custody Jan. 27, 2008, at Fort Bragg Army Base near Fayetteville, N.C., and was extradited back to Montana in February 2008.

Forkin later admitted he had loaned the pistol, which actually belonged to his mother, to Petersen, according to court records.

Authorities later recovered the barrel of a .45-caliber pistol in the shallows of the Flathead River near the Old Steel Bridge in Kalispell.

Petersen is believed to have dismantled the gun and thrown it into the river from his car.

Forkin was arrested and questioned in connection with the shooting but was not charged.

In a separate event following the hearing, authorities involved in the investigation were presented governor's commendations for 'selfless performance above and beyond the call of duty on behalf of Clyde Wilson."

Individuals from the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Lake County communications office, Lake County Attorney's Office, Flathead County Sheriff's Office, Flathead County Dive Team, Mountain Rescue Team, Montana State Crime Lab and Polson Police Department received the commendations.

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