Murder suspect wants extra charges dropped
Attorneys for a man accused of the 2010 bludgeoning death of a Kalispell man argued for the dismissal of recently added charges Wednesday in Flathead District Court.
Jeffrey Allen Nixon, 20, already was facing charges of deliberate homicide, robbery and evidence tampering when the Flathead County Attorney’s Office added felony burglary March 1. The amended charges also included accountability to deliberate homicide as an alternative to deliberate homicide.
He pleaded innocent March 10; the trial is tentatively scheduled for the July jury term.
Nixon is accused of helping Robert Lake beat 49-year-old Wesley “Bubba” Collins to death with hammers on April 12, 2010, and later hiding his body and stealing from his Kalispell apartment.
Calling on Deputy County Attorney Alison Howard and his fellow defense attorney Nick Aemisegger to testify, Attorney Noel Larrivee posited that the County Attorney’s Office has routinely amended charges within weeks of scheduled trials.
He zeroed in on the actions of the Flathead County Attorney’s Office as he sought to prove that the strategy impacts his ability to prepare for trial.
Aemisegger said four of the last seven felony trials in Flathead District Court have resulted in late-hour charges being filed that subsequently led to delays.
“This isn’t the first time this has come up,” Larrivee said. Larrivee provided evidence and testimony that exposed several details in what have been private negotiations between prosecutors and defense attorneys.
He produced several emails exchanged between himself, Howard and Aemisegger dated Feb. 9, Feb. 10, Feb. 11 and Feb. 28 in which Howard proposed a plea agreement.
The offer called for Nixon to plead guilty by way of an Alford plea to accountability to deliberate homicide and another charge in exchange for a recommendation of 60 years in Montana State Prison.
The County Attorney’s Office was informed that Nixon rejected the agreement Feb. 28 and filed the additional charge days later, according to testimony.
Flathead County Attorney Ed Corrigan said the felony burglary charge — alleging that Nixon was in Collins’ apartment — was added to ensure justice in the case as a matter of strategy, but not leverage in plea agreement negotiations.
While questioning Howard, he divulged that prosecutors were exploring the possibility that Nixon could avoid the charge of deliberate homicide if the case reached a jury.
“There are some evidentiary reasons for why that may occur,” he said, without further explanation.
With the possibility of acquittal, Corrigan said while questioning Howard that the additional charge was a way to ensure he didn’t escape justice.
Judge Stewart Stadler didn’t rule Wednesday on Nixon’s motion to dismiss the amended charge.
If Nixon is convicted, the burglary charge would add to 20 years to a slate of charges that already carry maximum punishment of 160 years in Montana State Prison.
Nixon is one of five people charged with felonies in relation to Collins’ murder. He’s the only one who has not been convicted.
Lake, 22, pleaded guilty Feb. 14 to deliberate homicide and tampering with physical evidence after reaching a plea agreement with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office. Though he later claimed he didn’t understand the charges, he was sentenced to 110 years in Montana State Prison on April 6.
Cody Naldrett, 28, is scheduled to be sentenced today for allegedly helping Lake and Nixon hide Collins’ body in a wooded area off of Patrick Creek Road. A plea agreement recommends a nine-year sentence with all but six months suspended.
Lake’s former girlfriend, Karrolyn Robinson, was sentenced to eight years in Montana Women’s Prison in December for deleting text messages from two cellphones that were evidence in the case.
Joshua Fritz accepted a plea agreement in October 2010 and pleaded guilty to felony tampering with evidence. He received a five-year suspended sentence.
Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.