Robert Lake and Jeffrey Nixon, the two men charged with murdering and robbing 49-year-old Wesley Collins, each had their bond set Thursday at $500,000 by Judge Mark Sullivan.
Sullivan said a half-million dollars was sufficient “given the nature and the seriousness of these crimes.”
The men were formally charged with deliberate homicide, robbery and tampering with physical evidence, each facing a maximum of 160 years or life in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.
The state might also seek the death penalty, Sullivan said.
Appearing separately and in the company of five sheriff’s deputies, the men said little during their hearings. They are scheduled to enter a plea at their arraignments scheduled for May 6 at 9 a.m.
The murder of Wesley Collins struck a chord in the Flathead, not just for the crime’s brutality, but also in the political hotbed of medical marijuana. Police and court records indicate Collins, a medical marijuana patient, was murdered for his plants and his money.
Lake and Nixon already planned on killing Collins for his money and marijuana, according to court records, prior to going over to his house to smoke with him on April 12.
Lake, 21, told authorities that while the three men shared the pot, Nixon, 19, began striking Collins in the head with two hammers. Lake admitted to beating the man with a hammer as well, according to court records, but only after Nixon threatened him.
Nixon gave police a differing account of the attack, saying he did not participate in the beating and that Lake was the main aggressor. According to police, however, an individual acquainted with Nixon said the suspect had planned to kill Collins in the week prior to the homicide.
After the murder, the two men allegedly stole Collins’ plants and money. Lake said they borrowed a truck from a friend and, with the help of a third person, disposed of Collins’ body in a wooded area west of Kalispell.
Then, according to police, the men used the stolen money to buy cleaning supplies and tried to clean the carpet and walls in Collins’ apartment.
Police arrested Lake after responding to an April 17 call reporting a possible burglary at Collins’ apartment, in which two men were seen taking marijuana plants from the residence. As officers investigated the potential burglary, police say Lake jumped out of an apartment window and tried to flee.
He was taken into custody, where police say he initially claimed to be in the apartment legally and that he had purchased the marijuana plants from Collins. A subsequent search of Lake’s apartment, however, turned up more of Collins’ belongings, including keys and prescription medications.
When confronted about the items, Lake eventually told police about the murder. Nixon was subsequently located and interviewed.
Kalispell police have also arrested a third person involved with the case, 27-year-old Cody A. Naldrett. He was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and drug paraphernalia and criminal contempt.
Kalispell Police Chief Roger Nasset said Naldrett was arrested for possessing items taken from the Collins’ residence.