Bigfork man pleads guilty to Ferndale killing

Bigfork Eagle

Ronald Lon Petersen, 20, of Bigfork, pleaded guilty to deliberate homiocide charges in Lake County last Friday.

Petersen was scheduled to go to trial to face muder charges in Polson on Feb. 2.

He is accused of shooting 24-year-old Clyde Wilson in his Ferndale home on new Years Eve 2007 as Wilson’s girlfriend and infant child slept nearby.

An affidavit filed in January outlined the events surrounding Wilson’s shooting on Dec. 31, 2007. Wilson's girlfriend, 20-year-old Raney Frick, called 911 to report that an intruder had entered the Meadow Creek Road home in Ferndale she shared with Wilson and their infant child and fired three shots, killing Wilson.

The assailant fled on foot through the back door and Frick waited until deputies arrived. In an interview with authorities that night, Frick stated that she had fallen asleep watching a movie and was woken up by the gunshots, according to the affidavit.

Petersen was turned in by a relative, the documents state.

Lake County Attorney Mitch Young did not eleaborate, only saying that there "might" be more revealed concerning a motive at the Feb. 4 sentencing.

The plea agreement calls for a joint recommendation of one hundred years in prison with no chance of parole.