Deer Lodge Man Pleads Guilty to Tampering

BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — A 29-year-old Deer Lodge man has pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence for helping a suspect flee Butte after a fatal shooting.

Juan Romero entered his plea Thursday as part of an agreement that calls for the dismissal of a charge of deliberate homicide by accountability in the Aug. 5 shooting death of 46-year-old Mark Partelow.

Jeffery Lackman of Whitehall faces trial in April for deliberate homicide in Partelow's death.

Court records say witnesses reported Lackman was arguing with Partelow's girlfriend and Partelow was shot in the face when he stepped in between them.

Prosecutors say Romero helped Lackman flee and hide the gun. The men were arrested two days later near Roundup. The suspected murder weapon was found wrapped in a towel in a plastic shopping bag near Elk Park.