Breijo pleads not guilty to murder charge | News, Sports, Jobs

A Surrey man charged with four felonies, including murder, in connection with the Dec. 24, 2023 shooting death of Nicholas Van Pelt and the shooting of an alleged victim, has pleaded not guilty to all charges after waiving his preliminary hearing.

Daniel Breijo, 40, Surrey, waived a preliminary hearing Thursday and pleaded not guilty during a status conference in North Central District Court. All parties, including Breijo and Judge Daniel El-Dweek, appeared via Zoom for the hearing. Breijo’s attorney, Jesse Walstad, and Assistant Ward County Prosecutor Amanda Engelstad asked the court to set Breijo’s trial date one year after today’s hearing to ensure sufficient time for witnesses prospects and members of Van Pelt’s family to organize their trip.

Breijo requested in April that the preliminary hearing be closed to the public and media, but El-Dweek denied the request after extensive deliberations in June. El-Dweek said in his order rejecting the petition that he had been left, “not convinced that the conclusion of the preliminary hearing is necessary in this case”, and that there were various alternatives that could preserve Breijo’s right to a fair trial.

Breijo waived the preliminary hearing as well as the reading of the case information and pleaded not guilty to charges of extreme indifference murder, a class AA felony; aggravated assault-shooting-loss or permanent impairment, a class B felony; and two Class C felonies of reckless endangerment – ​​extreme indifference and terrorizing. A fifth charge of simple assault against a peace or correctional officer was dismissed in August.

Breijo’s trial was set for 10 days, beginning October 6, 2025, and ending October 17, 2025. Walstad said he and Engelstad would file a joint stipulation agreement for scheduling motion deadlines and pretrial conferences after the fixed date. entered in the judicial calendar.

Breijo faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the murder charge, and up to 10 years in prison and five years in prison for the class B and C felonies, respectively.