Charges against accused murderer dismissed in deal

A Libby man accused of murder is free on a six-month suspended after a plea bargain with the Lincoln County Attorney was accepted by District Judge James Wheelis Tuesday.

Henry Carl Schroeder, a 74-year-old Libby man, was arrested Feb. 1, 2015, and charged with negligent homicide and tampering with evidence in the Jan. 31 shooting death of 38-year-old Thomas Veloz. The murder charge was later upgraded to deliberate homicide.

According to documents filed in the case, Libby Police Officer Darren Short was dispatched to the Schroeder’s home at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 1, approximately 18 hours after the incident, following a report of a shooting, which had taken place the previous evening.

Short arrived at the scene, where he met officer John Powell and Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputy Brandon Huff. They contacted Schroeder by phone and asked him to exit the residence. Schroeder complied and was quickly and without incident secured in Powell’s patrol vehicle.

The law enforcement officers entered the residence and discovered a male’s body, later identified as Veloz, covered with a blanket. 

“There appeared to be a large pool of blood near the victim’s head, and a possible gunshot wound was apparent,” Short wrote in the affidavit of probable cause.

A subsequent search of the house resulted in the discovery of a .380-caliber pistol and two shell casings, even though the victim had been shot at least five times, according to the report.

During the subsequent investigation, the witness, Donald Brittain, said he had been at Schroeder’s home the previous afternoon and Veloz’s girlfriend, Kimberlee Patterson, was there because her and Veloz were in a dispute. 

Brittain said he and Veloz had gone to a local bar for a few drinks around 7 p.m. on the evening of the shooting, but Veloz received a message on his phone from Schroeder saying, “Your woman is over here, and she’s OK.”

Brittain said he went to Schroeder’s house to check on him, but Patterson wouldn’t let him inside the house. Brittain said Schroeder, who he could see through Schroeder saying, “Your woman is over here, and she’s OK.”

Brittain said he went to Schroeder’s house to check on him, but Patterson wouldn’t let him inside the house. Brittain said Schroeder, who he could see through a crack in the door, was “pale white.”

Brittain said he returned to the residence at 11 a.m. the next day and went inside through the back door. Brittain reported to Short that Schroeder told him Veloz had come to the residence the night before and threatened him and Patterson, and that he had “shot him dead,” after which Schroeder and Patterson “made love and slept together,” according to Short’s report.

Schroeder told Short Veloz threatened to kill him, so Schroeder went into the bedroom and retrieved the pistol, which he emptied into Veloz from a distance of about six feet.

Short reported Schroeder later admitted to shooting Veloz several times from the bedroom, but also walking closer and shooting him “a couple more times,” after he fell.

Schroeder then told Short he failed to report the incident because he was upset and Patterson was “hysterical.” Schroeder confirmed Brittain had come to the house after the shooting but denied any intimate relationship with Patterson.

He also said he cleaned up the shell casings and threw them in the trash, which was why officers were only able to retrieve two spent casings at the scene.

Schroeder was facing a possible sentence of life in prison for the upgraded charge of deliberate homicide, in addition to 10 years on the evidence tampering charge, if convicted. Patterson was also charged with evidence tampering.

Schroeder’s attorneys, Noel Larrivee and William Managhan of the Office of the State Public Defender had filed a notice with the court of their intent to use an affirmative defense. The notice indicated “Defendant’s intention to introduce evidence at trial of the defense(s) of justifiable use of force (self defense) and defense of third persons.”

Further details of the exact nature of the defense were unavailable, as Larrivee reported in March the judge had issued a gag order on the case, precluding both sides from discussing details with the media.

Based upon the plea agreement, Schroeder entered a plea of guilty to a single misdemeanor charge of obstructing a peace officer or public servant. The felony charges were all dismissed and Schroeder was sentenced to 180 days in the Lincoln County jail. All but 44 of those days were suspended, and Schroeder was given 44 days credit for time served between the time of his arrest and the time he was released on $100,000 property bond.

Patterson also pleaded guilty to obstructing a peace officer or public servant, and was given a six-month deferred imposition of sentence, along with 18 days’ credit for time served in the event of sentence revocation.