Man enters Alford plea to accessory to murder
SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) -- A northern Idaho man has entered an Alford plea to an accessory-to-murder charge filed after a 19-year-old man was shot to death last fall and buried in a shallow grave north of Hope.
The Bonner County Daily Bee reports 19-year-old Christopher Robin Garlin entered the plea Monday in 1st District Court. Under an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to gain a conviction. It is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes.
Court records say Garlin told investigators he saw Austin Blake Thrasher shoot Michael Wyatt Smith last September.
Thrasher is charged with first-degree murder, but he has been found unable to assist in his own defense due to mental health issues.
Garlin's sentencing is set for Jan. 13.
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Information from: Bonner County (Idaho) Daily Bee, http://www.bonnercountydailybee.com
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