Change of venue denied in Poitra case

If Nicholas Poitra is to stand trial for murder, there’s no longer any question of where it will be.

On December 22, 2023, District Court Judge James Hovey rejected a motion for change of venue, meaning Eddy County could soon host its first murder trial since 1997.

Poitra is facing trial after allegedly shooting and killing Troyal Thumb at a bar in Sheyenne, N.D. last February.

He led law enforcement on a 65-hour-long manhunt afterwards, and eventually pleaded not guilty to several felony charges, including murder.

When Poitra also rejected a plea agreement offered by the state last summer, the possibility of a murder trial increased significantly.

And now, that trial is scheduled to begin in just over a month, on February 26 – exactly one year and one week since Thumb was killed.

But there was still some doubt regarding where the trial might take place, and sure enough, a change-of-venue motion was filed by Poitra’s defense attorney, Samuel Gereszek.

In his brief supporting the motion, Gereszek argues the venue should be changed to ensure Poitra has a fair trial.

“It is appropriate that a change of venue be ordered given the high-profile nature of the matter and the likely sensitive nature of the case,” argues Gereszek.

He also claims the community’s small size means it’s likely the potential jury pool will be familiar with the victim and his family, and/or with Poitra.

“It would be very difficult for the Defendant to have a fair and impartial jury, given the small community that he is a part of and the negative publicity that has surrounded the Defendant,” states Gereszek.

His brief goes on to mention five separate articles from news outlets regarding the case, some of which Gereszek argues include presumptions of guilt, and that “demonize” Poitra while portraying Thumb in a “heroic light.”

In response to the motion for change of venue, Eddy County State’s Attorney Ashley Lies filed a response opposing Gereszek’s argument.

In it, she states the articles are not recent enough, and do not prove enough widespread and damaging coverage to warrant a change of venue.

Using precedent from a previous trial, she also argues that a community’s small size is an insufficient justification for moving the trial somewhere else.

“Defendant claims that the population of Sheyenne of about 200 people and Eddy County of about 2,300 people is a reason to change the venue,” states Lies. “See again State v. Breding, stating that ‘If we were to accept that argument, a change of venue would be required in every serious criminal prosecution in a rural, sparsely populated community.’”

After considering both arguments, Judge Hovey ultimately decided against changing the venue.

In his reasoning, he states that the defense did not prove the publicity was highly damaging to Poitra.

He also agreed with Lies’ reasoning regarding the population of the community the trial could take place in.

“The defense has not provided any substantive defense evidence on the status of the defendant in the community or the popularity and prominence of the victim,” states Hovey.

“If the court were to grant the motion based on the scant evidence noted above it would be virtually impossible to ever try a high-profile or serious offense in Eddy County.”

With that, its official that Poitra’s murder trial will take place at the Eddy County Courthouse, and jury notices have already gone out to some Eddy County residents.

There’s still no guarantee, however, that a trial will take place at all.

Just last week, Patricia Wick of Carrington amended her plea to guilty of Class AA murder just two weeks before her trial was to begin.

If the trial does take place, it will be the first in Eddy County since April of 1997, when Mark Steinbach was found guilty of murdering his live-in girlfriend, Debra Rheinhart, after a four-day trial.

Poitra’s trial is scheduled to last as long as two weeks, beginning Monday, Feb. 26, and ending Friday, March 8.

With his bail set at $1.5 million, Poitra is awaiting trial at the Stutsman County Correctional Center in Jamestown.

He is considered innocent unless proven guilty.