Argument ends in fatal beating

By DAWN SLADE
Mille Lacs County Times
Posted 1/15/03

Alcohol and an argument are apparently what led to the death of 45-year-old Melvin Duane Eagle on Sunday, Jan. 5 at a home near Onamia.

According to statements given by two of the suspects, Coleman Lee Weous, 18, and Roger Duane Garbow, Jr., 20, the three men had been drinking the evening of Saturday, Jan. 4 at the residence of Victoria Smith.

The third suspect, a 17-year-old male, was also reportedly drinking, but he did not give police a statement.

All three suspects are from Onamia.

According to the criminal complaint, Smith said she and Eagle, among others, were attending a party at another residence. In the early hours of Jan. 5, she and Eagle went to her house.

Shortly after their arrival at Smithís residence, three men came to the door and asked if they could drink more with Eagle and Smith.

Smith said the four men and she drank for a while, then she went downstairs to bed.

Smith told authorities she awoke around 5:30 a.m. and noticed it was quiet upstairs. She proceeded upstairs and found Eagle on the floor. After trying to wake him, she realized he was not breathing, so she went to the neighbors who called 911.

The actual time 911 dispatchers received the call was 8:38 a.m.

Tribal Police Officers arrived at Smithís residence (15873 Nay Ah Shing Drive on the Mille Lacs Reservation) minutes later to find Eagle lying on his side with a great deal of blood on his face and soaked in his hair. It also appeared that Eagle had a cut under his chin.

Though he was not breathing and had no pulse, Tribal Police Officers performed CPR until the ambulance arrived.

The ambulance crew pronounced Eagle dead at the scene.

Both Weous and Garbow stated the men were at the Smith residence drinking with Eagle when an argument broke out, eventually turning physical.

According to the suspectsí statement, Eagle was kicked and stomped on numerous times, even when he was unconscious. One suspect estimated the assault continued another 10 minutes after Eagle was unconscious.

During the course of the investigation, officers discovered clothing Weous and Garbow were wearing which appeared to have blood stains on them.

A search warrant was executed for the residence of the 17-year-old where officers located two drops of what appeared to be blood.

Charges were brought by assistant county attorney Wade Kish on Tuesday, Jan. 7 against all three suspects in front of District Court Judge Michael Jesse.

The men were charged with six counts each, including murder in the second degree and aiding and abetting murder in the second degree. Each of those two charges have a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

In addition, the three have been charged with murder in the third degree and aiding and abetting murder in the third degree. Both of those charges have a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison each.

The three have also been charged with manslaughter in the first degree and aiding and abetting manslaughter in the first degree. The two charges each have a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and/or a $30,000 fine.

Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Kolb said the county is turning the case over to the State Attorney Generalís Office because none of the county attorneys have ever tried a murder case before.

The proceedings will take place in Mille Lacs County, with the county attorneys involved in the process and a county attorney sitting second chair.

Kolb said they will seek to try the 17-year-old as an adult.

A preliminary hearing is set for Tuesday, Jan. 21 at the Mille Lacs County Courthouse.