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Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Bergman expected to plead guilty
DAVENPORT - A plea agreement has been reached in the first murder case in Lincoln County in 20 years, lawyers said at a readiness hearing for Charles R. Bergman Tuesday, May 2.
The 54-year-old Bergman of Moses Lake was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after his wife Theresa Bergman's body was found by a farmer 10 miles north of Sprague in Sept. 2022.
"I'm proud to say we've reached a plea agreement," public defender Dave Hearrean told presiding judge Jeffrey S. Barkdull Tuesday.
Bergman is expected to plead guilty to an amended charge of second-degree murder in four weeks. A change-of-plea and sentencing hearing was set for 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 30.
Barkdull struck Bergman's trial start date following the announcement of an agreement Tuesday.
Bergman has been held in Lincoln County Jail without bail since being extradited from Pennsylvania in Dec. 2022, where he was arrested by U.S. Marshals in September.
If Bergman pleads guilty to a second-degree murder charge, a Class A felony, he faces up to life in prison. According to state RCW, someone is guilty of second-degree murder when causing the death of another person without premeditation.
Drew Lawson is the editor of the Davenport Times. He is a graduate of Eastern Washington University.
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