Fallon homicide suspect pleads 'not guilty' on amended charges

Jake Burghduff, one of the two individuals currently charged with the murder of Fallon resident Isaac Carrier, pleaded not guilty to amended charges on April 19. His made his initial appearance on the amended charges via Zoom from the Dawson County Correctional Facility.

The amended charges include the addition of one count of deliberate homicide, a felony, for Carrier's death. He was previously charged with one count of arson and one count of tampering with physical evidence, both felonies. He again pleaded not guilty to those charges as well during his appearance last week.

The other defendant in the case, Sterling Brown, previously pleaded not guilty to one count each of homicide and arson in his initial appearance on Feb. 21.

Along with the amended charges, Burghduff's attorney's, Michael Haase and Hailey Forcella, filed a motion to dismiss the charges, arguing that Burghduff should not be held legally liable for the crimes Brown allegedly committed. During the hearing, Seventh Judicial District Court Judge Olivia Rieger acknowledged the defense's motion but no ruling has been made on it yet.

The amended charges against Burghduff stem from information received following the first round of discovery in the case.

Carrier was found dead in his apartment in Fallon following a fire on Jan. 23. The state alleges that Brown and Burghduff drove from South Dakota to Fallon that night while Brown had the intent to carry out the homicide. Brown is married to Carrier's ex-wife, Katie Bivens, who was engaged in a "high-conflict" custody battle with Carrier for their young son, according to court documents.

The situation had resulted in high tensions between Carrier and Brown, including at least one physical altercation, court documents note.

Both Brown and Burghduff were initially interviewed in South Dakota by the Department of Criminal Investigations. Prosecutors in Montana received transcripts and recording of the interview through the discovery process. According to court documents, Burghduff admitted to knowing what Brown intended to do when he saw Brown had a gun in his possession the night they drove to Fallon but did not try to stop him because he did not believe Brown could be convinced to change his plan.

"His mind was pretty well set and, not too easy to change Sterling's mind if he ... his mind is set, so. I just sat there and kept drinking," Burghduff said during his interview with DCI, according to court documents.

A trial in the case has been scheduled for Aug. 21 in Terry, but that date is subject to change.