Former Fort Peck investigator to be tried again in homicide

Monday, May 2, 2011  

Robert War Club, a former criminal investigator for the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana, will be tried again in a homicide case.

War Club was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of Richard Green. The crime occurred on the Fort Peck Reservation in April 2006.

Federal prosecutors said the murder was tied to War Club's money problems, his trafficking of methamphetamine and his addiction to prescription pain pills. War Club wanted to show that Green's brother could have been responsible but Judge Sam Haddon prevented the defense from presenting the information.

"This was error," the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said in an unpublished decision last November that vacated War Club's conviction.

"War Club was denied a "meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense," the decision stated in calling for a new trial.

The new trial is scheduled for July 19.

Get the Story:
Retrial in Wolf Point homicide set for July (AP 5/2)

9th Circuit Decision:
US v. Robert War Club (November 18, 2010)

Related Stories:
Former Fort Peck investigator sentenced for murder (1/8)
Former Fort Peck officer convicted of murder (10/2)
Indian inmate escaped county jail in Montana (7/23)