News
Rios requests preliminary hearing
Scott Wagar
04/21/2015
The individual who has confessed to murdering two employees at Turtle Mountain Pork (TMP) near Souris was in district court on April 17 with his defense attorney to request a preliminary hearing for his client.
Jeremy Rios, 18, appeared before Northeast Judicial District Judge Michael Sturdevant this past Tuesday with his attorney, William Hartl of Rugby, who requested a preliminary hearing for his client who has been arrested for the murder of Christopher Sluder, 50, and Brian Story, 37, two employees at Turtle Mountain Pork.
Swain Benson III, the prosecuting attorney, stated that considering there were eight law enforcement agencies involved in the double homicide case, it would take two to three months to obtain all the information for the case, which Sturdevant agreed to.
Once the information is gathered by the prosecution, it will be turned over to see if there is enough probable cause to go forward with a trial.
“All that is needed for a trial is probable cause,” Sturdevant said. “Not beyond reasonable doubt.”
According to court documents, on March 24, Rios, an employee himself of Turtle Mountain Pork, shot and killed Sluder and Story over a verbal altercation between the two men and a group of employees concerning their performances within the pig barns.
One of the employees was Rios.
The crimes against Rios are both Double AA Felonies, which the maximum penalty is life in prison without parole.