Man convicted in murder trial
SANDPOINT — A Bonner County jury convicted a Sagle man on Friday of second-degree murder and failing to notify authorities of a death.
Michael Ryan McDermott had no outward reaction when the verdicts were announced.
A jury composed of eight men and three women deliberated for more than four hours on Thursday before taking a break for the night. Deliberations resumed Friday morning and word of a verdict was announced at 1 p.m.
The jury ruled McDermott was not acting in self-defense when he shot and killed Robert Cameroen Hegseth Wohali, 26, on the grounds of Evergreen Towing in the waning hours of March 14 or the emerging hours of March 15. The panel further ruled that McDermott failed to report the killing in an attempt to prevent it from being discovered by authorities.
Jurors were given the option of convicting McDermott on a lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter, an option they declined to utilize.
McDermott, 47, faces 10 years to life on the murder charge and up to 10 years on the failure-to-report charge. His sentencing is set for Dec. 3.
McDermott testified that he shot Hegseth Wohali after he came at him it with a double-headed ax. However, the state argued that McDermott shot Hegseth Wohali in a fit of rage upon discovering his former girlfriend had restarted a relationship with him.
During closing arguments on Thursday, Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall emphasized that Hegseth Wohali was not preparing for combat on the night he was slain, as evidenced by the clothing he was wearing when his body was found dumped on Gold Hill — socks and unbuttoned trousers.
“He never gets his boots on,” Marshall told jurors. “He doesn’t even get his shirt on.”
The state argued Hegseth Wohali reacted to his girlfriend being battered by McDermott outside her recreational vehicle and confronted him.
The defense argued that McDermott was only trying to defend himself.
“Robert was the true aggressor. Mike had seconds to defend himself and he did,” Chief Public Defender Susie Jenkins told jurors.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.