HELENA – The federal government dropped murder-related charges against a man in the 2001 deaths of three women at a Florence hair salon shortly after attorneys filed a motion alleging prosecutorial misconduct and outrageous government conduct.
An agreement filed Friday calls for Lincoln Benavides to plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distributing methamphetamine. He and co-defendant Brian Weber also were charged with three counts of murder in the November 2001 deaths of Brenda Patch, Cynthia Paulus and Dorothy Harris, and conspiracy to commit murder and committing violent crimes in aid of racketeering.
Under the agreement, prosecutors will recommend a 30-year prison sentence. A judge must approve the plea agreement.
“It’s obviously a major development in the case and the fact that the murder charges are being dismissed is certainly of note,” said Weber attorney Al Avignone, of Bozeman.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Fehr declined to comment on the reason for the plea agreement. Federal public defender Timothy Foley of Sacramento, Calif., an attorney for Benavides, also declined to comment on what led to the plea agreement.
“I think it’s an appropriate resolution of the case,” Foley said.
Benavides joined Weber’s motion, filed under seal in mid-October, to dismiss the charges due to misconduct. The motion to change the plea in Benavides’ case was filed on Oct. 23.
In August 2008, Foley filed a motion seeking unredacted copies of discovery documents.
“The discovery produced to the defense thus far contains numerous documents that have been redacted to hide the names of witnesses,” the motion stated, arguing that the practice prevents the defense from properly investigating the evidence and that failure to disclose the information “will violate the defendant’s right to a fair trial.”
It’s not clear if that was the reason for the alleged misconduct.
Defense attorneys also filed motions to dismiss charges due to lack of jurisdiction and because the statute of limitations had expired.
Avignone said Monday he is still preparing Weber’s case for a March 1 trial.
Prosecutors have said Benavides was running a drug ring and ordered Weber, as an enforcer for the ring, to kill the women at the salon. The details of the slayings and any possible motive remain sealed by the court, as are many of the motions filed in the case.
“The families of the victims deserve privacy. The defendants deserve a fair trial,” Avignone said. “The court and the government are working to preserve all of those objectives.”