Accessory in Smith killing sentenced

SANDPOINT — A Clark Fork man who witnessed the execution of Michael Wyatt Smith, but kept quiet about the slaying to avoid meeting a similar fate was given a suspended prison term on Thursday.

Christopher Robin Garlin was also given credit for 13 months in jail he’s already served in connection with a federal firearms theft case.

Garlin came forward about four months after Smith was shot to death by Austin Blake Thrasher in Cocolalla in September 2011.

Thrasher, 20, shot Smith, 19, with a pistol because both men were vying for the affections of a 16-year-old Clark Fork girl, according to court documents.

Garlin called the ordeal “horrifying” and said he regretted not coming forward sooner.

“I came forward because his parents need to know. They need to know what happened to their kid,” Garlin said in a cracked voice.

Garlin, also 19, disclosed Smith’s murder in January 2012, when he, Thrasher and Thrasher’s wife, Jennifer, were arrested in connection with a firearms heist at a Ponderay pawn shop.

Austin Thrasher was charged with first degree murder in 1st District Court, while Garlin and Thrasher’s wife were charged with being accessories. The two were also prosecuted in U.S. District Court for the Pawn Now break-in.

Austin Thrasher pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and the Pawn Now break-in and was sentenced to life in prison with a chance at parole after serving 25 years.

Jennifer Thrasher, 24, and Garlin entered into plea agreements which resulted in concurrent, two-year prison terms to resolve their federal and state cases. Garlin, however, only served 13 months of the sentenced before he was released.

Garlin’s defense counsel, Paul Vogel, emphasized that his client played no role in the killing or the concealment of Smith’s body in a shallow grave in the Rapid Lightning Creek valley. Vogel added that Garlin withheld knowledge of Smith’s killing out of a genuine fear of Austin Thrasher.

“He did not report it because he was in fear of repercussions from Austin Thrasher. He reported it as soon as he thought Austin Thrasher was in custody,” said Vogel.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall admitted that Smith’s killing could have gone undetected without Garlin’s admission.

“The truth is that without the assistance of Mr. Garlin, it might have taken some time or it might have been an unsolved homicide,” said Marshall.

Smith’s father, David, did not attend Thursday’s hearing because he lives in California, although he did attend Austin Thrasher’s sentencing in April. David Smith said the death of his only child left he and his wife devastated, although he was grateful Garlin exposed the murder.

“If it hadn’t been for Mr. Garlin, we still wouldn’t know where our son was buried,” David Smith said at the time.

Garlin entered an Alford plea to the accessory charge, meaning that he does not accept guilt, but acknowledges that the state has enough evidence to gain a conviction.

First District Judge Barbara Buchanan agreed to adopt the terms of the plea agreement after a thorough review of evidence, testimony and statements in the case.

“I see no evidence that Mr. Garlin had any idea what was going to happen, that he was part of any kind of a plan, that anyone had any idea that Mr. Thrasher was going to shoot Mr. Smith,” said Buchanan, adding that there was ample evidence that Garlin was fearful of Austin Thrasher.

Buchanan imposed a suspended term of two to four years and gave Garlin credit for 405 days he’s already served. Garlin was also placed on supervised probation for three years.