Judge denies man's request in homicide case

A Marion man who killed his neighbor in 2014 will be sentenced this month as scheduled after a judge denied his request to withdraw his plea.

Mark Bolton Ames, 54, was convicted of mitigated deliberate homicide. He entered an Alford plea in September in accordance with a plea agreement that included a 20-year prison sentence.

An Alford plea means that the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges that he would likely be found guilty in a trial.

Since entering his plea, Ames has filed to dismiss his public defenders and withdraw his plea. He claimed that he was misled about the consequences of his plea deal.

On April 24, District Judge Heidi J. Ulbricht denied the plea withdrawal request. She wrote that the court evidence “leaves no doubt that defendant was aware of the consequences.”

Ames has been assigned a new attorney.

Ames shot and killed his 60-year-old neighbor, Harold Gordon, in January 2014. The two had been in disputes with each other for a long time and even had restraining orders against one another.

Law officers say that Ames fired an AK-47 at Gordon’s house that night. Gordon responded by stepping outside with a shotgun.

According to court documents, Ames then shot Gordon three times with a .32-caliber handgun, killing him.

Ames is scheduled to be sentenced on May 11 in Flathead County District Court.