Helena-area men charged after man's body found in snow

HELENA (AP) — Two Helena-area men were charged Tuesday with deliberate homicide in the death of a man whose frozen body was discovered along Rimini Road southeast of Helena last week.

Lewis and Clark County Justice of the Peace Michael Swingley set bail at $75,000 each for Brandon Michael Beckman and Robert John Harvel, 31. They both requested public defenders, but have not been appointed specific attorneys who could comment on their behalf, court officials said. They did not enter pleas.

Beckman and Harvel are charged in the death of Michael Anthony Biggs, 39, of Helena, whose body was found by a snowmobiler on Jan. 14. He had been shot in the head.

During the investigation, detectives learned Biggs had cashed a check for a large amount of money in Great Falls on Jan. 10 and that he was gambling at East Helena casinos on Jan. 12.

Based on video from the casinos, and workers who identified Beckman as being one of the men with Biggs, Beckman was interviewed. He denied having anything to do with Biggs' death, but acknowledged he and Harvel got help after the car they were in got stuck in the snow in the Rimini area.

Beckman said he and Harvel had been using drugs before getting stuck, court records said.

Harvel, who was jailed on Jan. 14 after being arrested on unrelated charges, told detectives that Beckman told him to drive to the Rimini area on Jan. 13 to pick up a large amount of methamphetamine.

When they turned into a parking area Beckman and Biggs got out of the car and Beckman shot Biggs in the back of the head, Harvel said. Beckman took Biggs' money and forced Harvel at gunpoint to help move Biggs' body, Harvel said.

They got the car stuck in the snow while trying to leave, Harvel told detectives. About 45 minutes later, Harvel said he was able to flag down someone who helped free the car.

The witness, who said he helped the men at about 10:30 a.m., gave a description of the men that matches Beckman and Harvel, court records said.

Investigators will be searching the car that Harvel was driving when he was arrested for evidence in the killing, Sheriff Leo Dutton said Tuesday.

Both men face alternative counts of deliberate homicide by accountability and charges of tampering with evidence.