Bigfork man pleads guilty to 2007 Ferndale killing

Bigfork Eagle

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

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

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

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

Petersen was arrested in Fort Bragg, N.C., where he was stationed with the U.S. Army, in January. Zachary Forkin, 19, also of Bigfork, was arrested in conjunction with the incident but released after questioning.

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.

On Jan. 26, the affidavit states, Ryon Gates called the Lake County Sheriff’s Office with information that his brother, Petersen, had killed Wilson. Gates told investigators details related to him about the incident that had not yet been released to the public and stated that Petersen had shown him a handgun which Petersen stated he had used to kill someone in Ferndale.

The affidavit states that Petersen told Gates the gun belonged to “Zack,” who Gates identified to detectives as Zachary Forkin.

Deputies obtained a warrant and searched the Forkin residence but the gun, belonging to Forkin’s mother Frances, was missing, according to the document. Forkin told investigators he had loaned the gun to Petersen. According to Forkin, Petersen stayed at his home while on leave from the Army, according to the affidavit. The document also states that after being arrested in Fort Bragg, Petersen gave a statement to investigators in which he described the shooting.

Acting on a tip in the weeks after the shooting, Flathead County Search and Rescue squad sent divers into the frigid waters of the Swan River beneath the one-lane bridge in Bigfork to search for the gun. A two-day search turned up nothing.

Lake County Attorney Mitch Young did not elaborate on the plea deal, only saying that there “might” be more revealed concerning a motive at the Feb. 4 sentencing.