Accused Ferndale killer pleads guilty to deliberate homicide charge

Twentieth Judicial District Judge Molly Owen set a sentencing date of Sept. 18 for a Bigfork man accused of shooting three people last year, killing one of them.

Matthew Thomas Vitek, 50, entered a plea of guilty in district court at Polson on July 31 to felony charges of deliberate homicide and two counts of attempted deliberate homicide.

The charges each carry a maximum 100-year prison sentence, plus 10 years for a weapons enhancement. However, Vitek entered his guilty plea as part of a plea agreement in which prosecutors agreed to drop the weapons enhancement charge.

The agreement also calls for a joint recommendation of 100 years in the Montana State Prison with a 30-year parole restriction on each count to run concurrently. The judge is not bound by the agreement.

According to court records, on Dec. 10, 2023, deputies with Lake and Flathead County sheriff’s offices responded to multiple reports of shots fired on Cayuse Lane in Ferndale. Flathead County deputies were first on scene.

Tammi Jordan, 56, had been shot in the head. The other two victims had suffered gunshot wounds to their chests. All three were transported to Logan Health in Kalispell, where Jordan was pronounced dead. The other two victims were listed in stable condition the following morning.

Vitek was arrested at the scene.

Surveillance cameras “captured the entire event,” according to court documents. The video shows Jordan exiting her home and yelling to one of the other two victims for help. The person who came to help ran toward Jordan with a two-by-four in her hands as Vitek was allegedly baiting her.

Vitek can be heard saying, “You are all going to die,” according to court documents. He then allegedly yells, “Alright, here we go. We’re going to have some fun.”

Vitek can be seen shooting two of the victims in the chest before turning the gun on Jordan, according to court documents. Vitek allegedly kept berating the victims before stomping on two of their heads. 

An autopsy determined that Jordan’s “cause of death was a gunshot wound to the head and the manner of death was homicide.”

Vitek remains in the Lake County Jail with bail set at $3 million.