Murder suspect freed on $1 million bond

GLENDIVE, Mont. - The northwest South Dakota man charged with murdering a Montana man over a custody dispute has been released on $1 million bond.

Sterling Brown walked free from the Dawson County Correctional Facility in Glendive, Mont., Wednesday afternoon. Prairie County Attorney Dan Rice said Debra Kay Brown, Brown's mother, posted a $1 million certificate of deposit to obtain her son's release.

A pair of hearings were held on Monday and Tuesday to set the bond. The $1 million is a property assignment based on a loan obtained by Debra Kay Brown, of Buffalo, according to Prairie County Clerk of Court Shari Robertson. Debra Brown did not return a call seeking comment.

Brown will live with his lawyer, Lance Jasper, in Superior, Mont., Rice said, before moving to an apartment in Superior. Jasper did not return a call seeking comment.

Brown is charged with deliberate homicide, arson and three counts of criminal endangerment. Prosecutors said he was angry over an ongoing custody dispute between his wife, Katie Bivens and her ex-husband, Issac Carrier.

Authorities charge that he drove to Fallon, Mont., on Jan. 23, entered Carrier's unlocked apartment and shot him in the back of the head, killing him. According to charging documents, Brown then poured gasoline on Carrier and in the apartment before setting it on fire. That led to the criminal endangerment charges, since three other residents of the small apartment building were forced to evacuate due to the fire.

He then drove back to South Dakota along with Jake Burghduff of Camp Crook, according to charging documents. Brown denies that account, and maintains his innocence.

Brown was arrested at his family ranch on Feb. 8. South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation agents assisted in the arrest. Tony Mangan, a spokesman for the South Dakota DCI, said the arrest took place without incident.

Brown was held in the Meade County Jail in Sturgis between Feb. 8-14, according to Meade County Sheriff Pat West. He waived extradition and was transferred to Montana on Feb. 14, according to Rice.

Burghduff, who insists he remained in Brown's vehicle and did not enter the apartment, confessed his role in the murder during an interview with Montana Division of Criminal Investigations agents at Spearfish Police Station on Feb. 7.

He was charged with deliberate homicide, arson and tampering with evidence, but the latter two charges were dropped.

Burghduff, 21, was convicted of deliberate homicide by a Prairie County jury on Aug. 23. He was given a 15-year sentence with 10 years suspended. Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Olivia Rieger placed Burghduff in the custody of the Montana Department of Corrections.

That means he will be evaluated before he is placed in prison, where he would be eligible for parole, or in a treatment facility, or even sentenced to serve his term at his home. Burghduff was given credit for the 253 days he has served since he was arrested.

Rice said there is no update on where and how Burghduff will serve his sentence. He is still an inmate at the Dawson County Correctional Facility.

If convicted of all five offenses, Brown, 30, faces a sentence of up to 160 years - 100 years for deliberate homicide, with an additional 10 years for having used a firearm while committing a felony; 20 years for arson; and 10 years each for the criminal endangerment counts.

Each offense also has a potential fine of $50,000, which totals $250,000.

Brown made an initial appearance on Friday, Sept. 1. His trial is set for March.

Bivens, who met with Montana DCI agents at the Spearfish Police Department along with her husband on Jan. 31, remains under suspicion. She denied any knowledge of the murder of her ex-husband, but authorities have asked anyone with information to contact them.