Horvath trial starts today

SANDPOINT - A former Sandpoint man's murder trial in North Dakota is set to start today.

Jonathan Peter Horvath's two-week trial was moved from Williston to Wahpeton, N.D., the Williston Herald reported on Tuesday.

Horvath is accused of shooting 28-year-old Derrick Spiegel to death outside downtown strip clubs in Williston in March of last year. Horvath fled the state but was arrested near Billings, Mont., a few days after the slaying.

Horvath, 46, pleaded not guilty to charges of murder, terrorizing, unlawful possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment.

Witnesses told police that Horvath intervened in an altercation between Spiegel and Horvath's roommate after downtown bars closed, according to published media accounts. Spiegel reportedly tried to wrestle a 9-millimeter pistol from Horvath's hands and ended up receiving close-contact gunshot wounds that were fatal.

The state argued at a preliminary hearing that Horvath could have simply sidestepped the altercation. The defense, meanwhile, emphasized that surveillance video merely showed Horvath interceding in an argument.

The killing has become the poster child for burgeoning crime problems in Williston associated with the oil boom that has drawn in legions of people looking for work.