Plea deal reached for Big Arm man facing homicide charge

A jury trial was vacated earlier this week in a homicide case where a Ronan woman died after she was allegedly pushed from a moving vehicle in Lake County.

According to Lake County District Court documents, on Dec. 14 a motion to enter a change of plea for Joseph Conko Parizeau, 23, of Big Arm, was entered by Lake County Attorney Steven Eschenbacher. Parizeau was charged with negligent homicide in the June death of 24-year-old Cassandra Harris. He also faced three counts of witness tampering.

“A plea agreement has been reached between the parties,” Eschenbacher stated in the new court documents.

According to the Associated Press, Eschenbacher amended the charge against Parizeau to a single count of criminal endangerment.

Parizeau was scheduled for a jury trial Dec. 18 in front of District 20 Court Judge James A. Manley. The change of plea hearing was moved to Wednesday.

Parizeau, represented by attorney Brian Smith, had pleaded not guilty to all charges. According to the Missoulian, Smith said Parizeau plans to enter an Alford plea, which allows a defendant to maintain his or her innocence, but has the same effect, for sentencing purposes, as a guilty plea.

Court documents allege that Parizeau pushed Harris out of a moving pickup in the McDonald Lake area in the Mission Mountains after Harris met up with Parizeau, Donnovan Sherwood, 19, of Ravalli, and Julia Vaile, 18, of Missoula. Harris was found badly injured and later died at the hospital.

A charge against a fourth person, Gale Hendrickx III, of Pablo, was dismissed out of Lake County Justice Court.

Sherwood was handed a deferred sentence Nov. 29 for an obstruction charge, stemming from his alleged involvement in the case.

Parizeau was being held at the Lake County Jail on Tuesday on a $150,000 bond for the negligent homicide charge.

Sherwood was also at the jail on a $100,000 bond for a partner/family member assault charge stemming from a Dec. 4 incident, as well as a probation violation.

Vaile is scheduled for a trial in January.