州政府撤銷對 Crites 案件中萊昂福特的殺人指控

在海倫娜經過一場激烈的審判後，萊昂福特對約翰「麥克」克里特斯的謀殺指控已被撤銷。去年六月，陪審團未能做出裁決，針對福特的案件已被駁回。劉易斯和克拉克縣檢察官凱文唐斯 (Kevin Downs) 宣布，州政府不會重審此案，理由是對證據進行了徹底審查。

HELENA — Last June, after a three-week trial in Helena, jurors couldn’t agree on a verdict in the trial of Leon Ford – the man charged with deliberate homicide in connection with the 2011 killing of John “Mike” Crites. Now, the case against Ford has been dismissed.

海倫娜——去年6 月，在海倫娜進行了為期三週的審判後，陪審團未能就對萊昂·福特(Leon Ford) 的審判做出一致的裁決。該男子被控與2011 年殺害約翰「麥克」克里特斯(John “Mike” Crites) 有關的故意殺人罪。現在，針對福特的案件已被駁回。

“After a thorough review and in consideration of all of the information and evidence related to this investigation, the State will not proceed in retrying this case,” said Lewis & Clark County Attorney Kevin Downs in a statement to MTN.

劉易斯和克拉克縣檢察官凱文唐斯(Kevin Downs) 在給MTN 的聲明中表示：「經過徹底審查並考慮到與本次調查相關的所有資訊和證據，州政府將不會繼續重審此案。”

Retired County Attorney Leo Gallagher, who served as the lead prosecutor on the case, filed a motion to dismiss on Monday. District Court Judge Mike Menahan granted the order Tuesday morning.

擔任此案首席檢察官的退休縣檢察官利奧·加拉格爾週一提出了駁回動議。地區法院法官麥克梅納漢週二上午批准了該命令。

Palmer Hoovestal, Ford’s defense attorney, says he heard the news Monday afternoon.

福特的辯護律師帕爾默·胡維斯塔爾表示，他是周一下午聽到這個消息的。

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“My immediate reaction was I think that that was exactly what should have happened,” he told MTN. “Leon Ford did not kill Michael Crites and there was absolutely no way that they were going to prove it, and they did the right thing.”

「我的第一個反應是我認為這正是應該發生的事情，」他告訴 MTN。 “萊昂·福特沒有殺死邁克爾·克里特斯，他們絕對無法證明這一點，但他們做了正確的事。”

Ford had been scheduled for a retrial later this year, though Hoovestal had moved to block it, saying they hadn’t had access to some key evidence that could have supported Ford’s case.

福特原定於今年稍晚進行重審，但胡維斯塔爾已採取行動阻止重審，表示他們無法獲得一些可能支持福特案件的關鍵證據。

Crites’ death remains unresolved, well over a decade after he was last seen alive, in June 2011. In October 2011, his dismembered remains were discovered in plastic bags on the east side of MacDonald Pass. His skull was found several miles west of the pass in September 2012.

克里特斯的死因至今仍懸而未決，距離他最後一次活著（2011 年6 月）已過去十多年。2011 年10 月，人們在麥克唐納山口東側的塑膠袋中發現了他被肢解的遺體。 2012 年 9 月，他的頭骨在山口以西幾英里處被發現。

Ford owned a property adjacent to Crites’ home on Turk Road, in a rural area outside Birdseye, northwest of Helena. The two men had a years-long dispute over land access, including confrontations in 2002 and 2007. Prosecutors had argued that the dispute might have provided Ford with a motive.

福特在特克路上擁有一處房產，毗鄰克里特斯的家，該路位於海倫娜西北部伯德賽郊外的鄉村地區。兩人在土地使用權問題上發生了長達數年的爭執，其中包括 2002 年和 2007 年的對抗。檢察官辯稱，這場爭執可能為福特提供了動機。

After years without an arrest in Crites’ death, authorities took Ford into custody in August 2020. Ford repeatedly denied he killed Crites, including on the stand during his trial.

克里特斯之死多年來一直沒有被逮捕，當局於 2020 年 8 月將福特拘留。福特一再否認他殺死了克里特斯，包括在審判期間在證人席上。

Hoovestal said Ford was “stunned” to hear about the dismissal.

胡維斯塔爾表示，福特聽到被解僱的消息「感到震驚」。

“As you can imagine, it was a huge relief,” he said. “It's like the weight of the world was on his shoulders in this case. He was charged with something that he did not do – it was one of the worst crimes that can be prosecuted, deliberate homicide, and he didn't do it. And so, I think it took a minute for it to sink in.”

「正如你可以想像的那樣，這是一種巨大的解脫，」他說。 「在這種情況下，就好像整個世界的重量都壓在了他的肩上。他被指控犯下一些他沒有做過的事情——這是可以起訴的最嚴重的罪行之一，故意殺人，但他沒有這麼做。所以，我認為它需要一分鐘的時間才能被理解。”

Hoovestal said he would have preferred Ford receive a clear acquittal, but he doesn’t believe the state’s case against Ford would ever have gotten stronger.

胡維斯塔爾表示，他希望福特被明確無罪釋放，但他不認為該州針對福特的案件會變得更有力。

Lewis & Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said he understood why the decision to dismiss the case was made.

劉易斯和克拉克縣警長利奧·達頓表示，他理解為何做出駁回此案的決定。

“It is a letdown, but you have to have faith in the system of government that we have,” he said. “So they made a decision, and that's something that I have to pay attention to and go and look for more evidence.”

「這令人失望，但你必須對我們現有的政府體係有信心，」他說。 “所以他們做出了決定，這是我必須關注並去尋找更多證據的事情。”

Dutton said he wanted to make clear Crites’ case was not “going on the shelf.”

達頓表示，他想澄清克里特斯的案件並未「被束之高閣」。

“It's clear that someone murdered Mike Crites,” he said. “It's our job to prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. That's our job; we will continue with that job. It's just going to take a little bit longer than we had anticipated.”

“很明顯有人謀殺了邁克·克里特斯，”他說。 「我們的工作就是毫無疑問地證明這一點。這就是我們的工作；我們將繼續這項工作。只是需要的時間比我們預期的要長一些。”

約翰·邁克爾·克里特斯

Hoovestal says the state isn’t going to find new evidence to tie Ford to this crime.

胡維斯塔爾表示，該州不會找到新的證據將福特與這起犯罪行為聯繫起來。

“There is somebody out there who had actually killed Michael Crites, who's still walking around, and my hope is that they find whoever that individual is and that they prosecute that person.”

“確實有人殺死了邁克爾·克里特斯，而他仍然在四處走動，我希望他們能找到那個人是誰，並起訴那個人。”

“We know that this case is not solved; we will continue,” Dutton said. “So if you have information or if you did it, you don't need to live with that guilt. Come in and talk to us. You can resolve this.“

「我們知道這個案子還沒有解決；我們將繼續，」達頓說。 「所以，如果你有訊息或你做了這件事，你就不需要帶著愧疚生活。進來和我們談談吧。你可以解決這個問題。”

Connie Crites, Mike Crites' sister, told MTN the county informed them of the decision before it became public. She said their family remained disappointed that her brother hasn't received justice.

麥克·克里特斯的妹妹康妮·克里特斯告訴 MTN，該縣在決定公開之前就通知了他們。她說，他們的家人對她哥哥沒有得到正義感到失望。

“At this point, somebody got away with murder, in a nutshell,“ she said.

「簡而言之，在這一點上，有人逃脫了謀殺罪，」她說。

However, Crites said she understood why the county wasn't pursuing a second trial, especially if the outcome might not be different. She said the three weeks of testimony had been some of the most difficult the family had gone through, and that they were more disappointed with the hung jury than with the dismissal.

然而，克里特斯表示，她理解為什麼該縣不進行第二次審判，特別是如果結果可能不會有所不同的話。她說，這三週的作證是這個家庭經歷的最困難的一段時間，他們對懸而未決的陪審團比對被解散更失望。

Crites said she knows it's going to get harder for authorities to find physical evidence in her brother's death, but she remains hopeful something will turn up.

克里特斯說，她知道當局會越來越難找到哥哥死亡的物證，但她仍然希望能找到一些線索。

“If we get justice in this lifetime, that's great,“ she said. “If not, God's the ultimate judge.“

「如果我們能在這一生得到正義，那就太好了，」她說。 “如果沒有，上帝就是最終的審判者。”