High court hears convicted killer's appeal

| June 30, 2015 9:00 PM

SANDPOINT - The North Dakota Supreme Court is considering an appeal filed by a former Bonner County man convicted of murder, according to the Bismarck Tribune.

Jonathan Peter Horvath is serving a life sentence without parole after being convicted of murder, reckless endangerment and two counts of terrorizing and prohibited possession of a firearm.

A jury convicted Horvath of the offenses after jury trial in December 2014.

The charges arose from a deadly confrontation outside a strip club in Williston, N.D., in March 2013. The clash involved a group Horvath was in and a group Derrick Spiegel was in.

Horvath armed himself with a pistol during the confrontation and Spiegel was shot to death. Horvath stated he never meant to shoot Spiegel and that the handgun discharged accidentally during the struggle.

At his sentencing, Horvath told the court he was trying to de-escalate the fray.

Horvath's counsel, Scott Diamond, reiterated that claim when the state's high court took up Horvath's appeal on Tuesday.

Diamond argued that jurors unfairly inferred intent to commit murder from Horvath's actions, which included going to a vehicle to retrieve the loaded pistol.

Justice Dale Sandstrom expressed skepticism, the Tribune reported. Diamond said his client obtained the weapon out of a desire for protection and intimidation.

A club's security camera caught footage of the incident, although Diamond and Williams County Assistant State's Attorney Nathan Madden disagreed over what it depicted, according to the Tribune report.

Madden said it showed Horvath deliberately placing the gun at close range to Spiegel's head and neck and that there was no struggle.

"Watch the video. It's there," the Tribune quoted Madden as saying during the hearing.

Diamond disagreed that video showed Horvath intentionally shooting Spiegel and said the jury was unduly influenced by it.

"The video played. The video was shocking," Diamond told the court, adding that the jury was shocked into not applying critical examination of the evidence.