Court orders trial in Horvath Case

SANDPOINT — A former Sandpoint man accused of shooting a man to death during an altercation in North Dakota has been ordered to stand trial, according to the Williston Herald.

Jonathan Peter Horvath is charged with murder, reckless endangerment and two counts of terrorizing in connection with the killing of Derrick Spiegel, who was shot to death outside a strip club last March.

A jury trial date in a Williams County court is pending.

Witnesses told police that Horvath appeared to be intervening in an altercation between Spiegel and Horvath’s roommate. Horvath allegedly pushed past two people in order to get to Spiegel, the paper said.

Spiegel, 28, reportedly tried to wrest a 9-millimeter pistol from Horvath’s hands, which exposed him to close-contact gunshot wounds. Spiegel, a married father of two, was shot three times and died within a half-hour.

Williston Police Det. Cory Collings testified at an Aug. 5 preliminary hearing that video surveillance from nearby establishments appeared to show Horvath producing the weapon from his pocket and opening fire, but admitted that the dugout-style entrance to Heartrbeakers made it “tough to tell” precisely what was transpiring on the video, the paper reported.

Horvath, 46, allegedly fled the scene in a vehicle with a woman in tow. He allegedly pointed the pistol at the woman while in the vehicle for an unknown reason and then at a Heartbreakers bouncer who tried to keep him from leaving.

Horvath was arrested in Billings, Mont., two days after the shooting.

The prosecution reportedly argued at the preliminary hearing that Horvath could have avoided the deadly altercation, which had multiple witnesses. The defense countered that the video merely showed Horvath interceding in the argument, but not much else.

A judge, however, found there was sufficient evidence to justify trying Horvath on the felony offenses and ordered him to remain incarcerated without bond.

Horvath is also charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm due to felony convictions in Sacramento County, Calif.

Spiegel’s killing has been cited as evidence of a dark side to the employment and economic boom in North Dakota’s “Oil Patch” country. Collings told the Forum Communications News Service that the influx of oil boom workers is causing an increase in service calls for fights and aggravated assaults, which is putting a strain on law-enforcement resources.