KINGMAN – The Kingman man who admits shooting another Kingman man in a road rage sparked dispute that ended in a shooting in the hilltop Walgreen’s parking lot is no longer in custody. Nils Peters, 69, is on pre trial supervised release following his exit from the Adult Detention Facility, eight hours after a June 6 hearing at the Law and Justice Center.
Defense attorney Jason Lamm asked that bond for his client be reduced from $1-million to $100,000, to make it possible for Peters to be released pending trial. Lamm said that Peters has no prior legal history, not even a traffic ticket, and poses neither risk of flight nor danger to community.
Consistent with a Kingman police narrative based on Peters’ purported confession, Lamm said the May 7 shooting was a melt down from the crushing weight of 17 years of parental care and the declining health of his mother, resulting in out of character violence.
“This was a highly aberrant and spontaneous situation that was the cascade of life stresses,” Lamm said. “Through care fatigue, sometimes things happen.”
Deputy Mohave County Attorney Aaron Smith countered that Peters should remain confined because legal proceeding pressure adds to anxiety for the defendant that could lead to another meltdown.
“I would argue that it’s now a more stressful situation for him than it was previously, and I’m concerned that he would snap again and presents a danger to the community or to himself,’’ Smith said. He asked that bond be maintained at $1-million.
Judge Billy Sipe said he was confining his consideration to the legal standards that apply for determining where bond should be set.
“The reason for release conditions is to assure the person’s appearance at all future proceedings,” said Judge Sipe, indicating $1-million is too high. “That is clearly an excessive bond to secure the defendant’s appearance at all future proceedings.”
Judge Sipe granted the defense request and Peters posted bond to pretrial release supervision while his legal proceedings are pending. He was directed to have a shotgun in his home removed and not possess any firearm or stay in a home where they’re present.
Lamm says he’s contemplating legal strategy, despite incrimination by confession. “There are justification defenses available, but that is for a finder of fact at a later date,” he said.
