Accused murderer pleads guilty to mitigated deliberate homicide

The man accused of gunning down another man in Evergreen in January likely will spend the next 35 years in Montana State Prison after pleading guilty to mitigated deliberate homicide earlier this month.

Tanner Doyle White, 22, entered the guilty plea during an appearance in Flathead County District Court on July 20. White, who initially pleaded not guilty to deliberate homicide and has been held in county jail on a $500,000 bond, reached a plea deal with prosecutors that same day.

Under the terms of the agreement, prosecutors will recommend White spend 35 years behind bars, a term that will run concurrent to sentences out of Glacier County. Judge Robert Allison accepted his plea and set sentencing for Sept. 22.

Authorities arrested White within a week of the Jan. 17 shooting, saying at the time that a vehicle description helped them identify the then 21-year-old as a suspect. He was arrested by Columbia Falls Police officers during a Jan. 23 traffic stop.

During a subsequent interview with detectives, White admitted shooting 42-year-old Luke Simpson at a Flathead Drive home, court documents said. White allegedly said Simpson had gone on a date with White’s fiancé prior to the shooting. White had then followed him to the home and shot him with a 9mm handgun, according to court documents.

A nearby resident recalled hearing eight or nine shots as well as a man saying, “Take that [expletive].” That witness also saw two vehicles leave the scene, according to court documents.

White’s accused accomplice, Joseph Michael James Malinowski, 28, pleaded guilty to tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in July as well. Authorities say he drove Simpson’s vehicle away from the scene of the shooting.

Like White, Malinowski struck a deal with prosecutors, one that will see him receive a partially suspended eight year sentence with the state Department of Corrections. His sentencing is set for Sept. 1.