Sentencing postponed after man charged with murder claims he never saw police reports

IDAHO FALLS – A man charged with first-degree murder was supposed to be sentenced on Monday, but now his sentencing could potentially happen in 2024 after he claims he did not see essential documents related to his case.

Mark Bent, 42, pleaded guilty in September to the first-degree murder of 23-year-old Nikolas Todd Bird.

During what was scheduled to be his sentencing, District Judge Michael Whyte said an issue had been brought forward at 8:30 a.m. by the defense that would potentially cause the sentencing to be moved or vacated if Bent chose to take back his guilty plea and plead not guilty for the second time.

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According to Whyte, Bent claims that he never saw police reports about his case, which could potentially change his mind about how he wants to plead to the charge of first-degree murder.

“Mr. Bent, I was advised this morning that as part of the pre-sentence investigative process, you were provided with some police reports that you indicate you had not seen before,” said Whyte. “Based on that, there is a complication with proceeding with your sentencing. You have a constitutional right to review all documents, evidence, and information the state has compiled against you.”

Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal clarified to the court that it is not an issue of the state not turning over documents or records, but only that Bent says he doesn’t remember seeing them before signing a plea agreement and pleading guilty.

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“This is a balance between we have a signed plea agreement, and we have the change of plea that occurred. There were questions asked during that change of plea to which Mr. Bent stated he was satisfied,” said Neal. “This comes at the very last moment.”

Neal, advocating for the victim’s family, continued by saying every time there is a hearing, it causes more emotional turmoil for those affected by the alleged crime.

“The issue that the state is concerned about is that every time we have a hearing, the family has to get mentally prepared,” said Neal. “Obviously, today’s hearing was an extremely important hearing. They certainly hoped for a closing of a certain chapter and that is part of dealing with the grief of losing their son.”

Bent’s defense attorney, John Thomas, asked the court for 30 days to review the information and make sure that Bent understands it, noting there is a possibility he could withdraw his guilty plea, and the case could go to trial.

“That will allow me to go through all the evidence with Mr. Bent and make sure that he’s fully, freely and voluntarily changing his plea if that is what he wants to do,” Thomas said.

The next steps will be discussed at a status conference on January 8, 2024.

Background of the case

On Sept. 3, 2022, Idaho Falls Police responded to a shooting on Clair View Lane in Idaho Falls. A caller told dispatchers a man was “laying in the street, and a full-size truck just left the area.”

The victim, later identified as Bird, had “several gunshot wounds and was transported to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center, where he was later pronounced deceased.”

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Court documents say dispatchers received a call around 11 p.m. from a man who said he was Mark Bent and was turning himself in.

He allegedly told police he “shot someone” and identified that person as “Nik Bird” before telling officers he was at the Albertsons on 17th Street and had a gun in his truck. Bent seemed to have posted a confession on his Facebook page later, officers said.

In the post, Bent said, “I am saddened to say that I have committed some serious crimes today that will put me in jail for the rest of my life.”

He wrote that he met Bird through a car-related Facebook group. Bent recently thought about attacking various car-related events around the area due to disagreements with group members.

He allegedly wrote in the post that his “main goal was to kill Nik Bird.”