Poitra rejects plea agreement

The stage for a murder trial has likely been set after Nicholas Poitra, the man accused of murdering 35-year-old Troyal Thumb at Rindy’s Bar in Sheyenne earlier this year, recently rejected a plea agreement.

Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies said Poitra elected to continue with his pleas of not guilty to the charges against him – which includes Class AA felony murder – during his pretrial conference on Thursday, June 13 despite being offered the plea agreement.

Lies said the details of the plea agreement could not be disclosed at this time, as the offer is still on the table should Poitra change his mind.

However, because he did not accept the plea agreement prior to his pretrial conference, the plea agreement would no longer be binding if Poitra decides later to accept it, meaning the Judge could alter the agreement or decline it altogether if he feels it’s too lenient or strict.

For now, the next step is to schedule a jury trial.

A trial had not yet been scheduled as of press time, but Lies said she expects the trial to take place some time in February of next year.

The trial would likely take place sooner, she said, if not for a number of other significant cases being heard by the southeast judicial district, such as the murder trial of Patricia Wick.

Lies added that she expects the trial to be scheduled for two weeks – a typical length for felony murder trials, especially when there are eight victims who were present and allegedly held at gunpoint when the shooting took place.

As of press time, Poitra was still being held at the Stutsman County Correctional Center in Jamestown on $1.5 million cash bail.