Man who posted confession on social media pleads guilty in shooting death of 23-year-old
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IDAHO FALLS – The family of a shooting victim filled the front row of the courtroom on Thursday, dressed in purple jerseys bearing the victim’s name as his killer pleaded guilty.
Mark Bent, 42, pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder of 23-year-old Nikolas Todd Bird in front of District Judge Michael Whyte.
During court, Bent’s attorney, John Thomas, told the court they had submitted a plea agreement just five minutes before the hearing.
When asked in court what he did to end up needing to plead guilty to first-degree murder, Bent said, “It was a shooting. I shot the victim, Nikolas Bird.”
The agreement states that Bent agrees to plead guilty to first-degree murder if the prosecution agrees to recommend a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison at sentencing. The defense and prosecution will be free to argue for the maximum amount of time.
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The agreement is nonbinding on the court, meaning that Whyte does not have to sentence Bent to the recommended time and can sentence him to more or less time if he sees fit.
Bent is expected to appear for sentencing on Nov. 16 at 10 a.m.
‘I have committed some serious crimes today’
On Sept. 3, 2022, Idaho Falls Police responded to a shooting on Clair View Lane in Idaho Falls.
A caller told dispatchers that 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 EIRMC, 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 he was turning himself in.
He allegedly told police he “shot someone” and identified that person as “Nik Bird” before telling officers that he was at the Albertsons on 17th Street and had a gun in his truck.
Officers found Bent and arrested him. A gun was found in the passenger seat of his car with ammunition that matched the shell casings in the area where the shooting occurred.
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Later, officers were alerted that Bent seemed to have posted a confession on his Facebook page after the shooting.
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.”