DENVER A Towaoc man charged with first-degree murder has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
Clarence M. Lehi as arrested Nov. 5, 2011, after Winslow Big Soldier was shot and died at Lehis house on Mountain Sage Road in Towaoc.
A grand jury indicted him on five counts, including first-degree murder, assault and possession of a gun by a felon. Lehi, who was 55 at the time of the shooting, was convicted of felony assault in Utah in 1983.
Details about the plea agreement will not be made public until a hearing Aug. 29 in Durango. Lehis public defender, Scott Varholak, notified the court on July 6 that there will be a disposition by guilty plea in this matter.
It will be up to U.S. District Judge William Martinez to accept or reject the plea deal.
The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. Technically, first-degree murder is eligible for the death penalty, but prosecutors did not serve notice that they were considering a death penalty in this case.
According to Lehis arrest affidavit, two witnesses in the house heard Lehi call Big Soldier into the kitchen, saying, I have a present for you. Prosecutors say he then shot and killed Big Soldier with a rifle.
Lehi told police officers that Big Soldier was assaulting him. Big Soldier had beaten him several months earlier, and someone ran over Lehi with a car, requiring him to be airlifted to a Grand Junction hospital.