The man who allegedly aided in the murder of a 34-year-old Kalispell man last year pleaded guilty to felony accountability to deliberate homicide on March 23 but then wavered on his involvement in the crime.
David Vincent Toman’s change of plea hearing was continued until April 27 after Flathead County District Court Judge Dan Wilson refused to accept the man’s guilty plea.
“I believe the defendant would benefit from some additional time talking to his attorney,” Wilson said during the initial change of plea hearing on March 23.
Toman, who is one of four people accused of playing a role in the May 2016 death of Wade Allen Rautio, signed a plea agreement at the beginning of Thursday’s hearing and then entered a guilty plea. However, when Toman took the stand to answer additional questions he seemed confused about his plea. While he admitted that he had driven Robert Wittal, the man convicted of stabbing Rautio dozens of time in the woods east of Creston, to the scene of the murder, Toman said “no” when he was asked if he played a role in the victim’s death.
Wilson then had a private discussion with defense attorney Sean Hinchey and prosecutor John Donovan to discus Toman’s testimony. After roughly five minutes, the three men reentered the courtroom and Wilson announced the hearing would be continued.
Toman was one of four people arrested in June 2016 following Rautio’s murder near Creston. According to court documents, Melisa Ann Crone ordered Wittal, Toman and Christopher Michael Hansen to kill Rautio, who was living in her Evergreen home at the time. Wittal was charged with deliberate homicide, and Crone, Hansen and Tomen were charged with accountability to deliberate homicide. Crone was also charged with criminal possession of drugs.
Wittal was convicted of homicide at trail in October 2016 and sentenced to 110 years in prison earlier this year. On March 15, Crone pleaded guilty to felony criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and in return prosecutors agreed to drop the accountability to homicide charge. Crone will be sentenced on May 25 and prosecutors and the defense are expected to jointly recommend a 40-year sentence to the Montana State Prison with 20 years suspended. The fourth defendant, Hansen, is scheduled to stand trial next month.