Lorne Douglas-Edward Nichols entered a guilty by Alford plea last week to felony charges of assault with a weapon and criminal endangerment from a shooting incident north of Great Falls on Sept. 6, 2025.

He changed his plea in court on Aug. 10 and a plea agreement was filed on Aug. 13.

In the agreement, Nichols entered an open plea, meaning the prosecution and defense can argue for any sentence they choose during his sentencing hearing, which is currently set for Oct. 16.

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An Alford plea is a defendant acknowledging there’s enough evidence to convict but not admitting to the facts. It carries the same significance in sentencing as a guilty plea.

Cascade County Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched shortly after midnight on Sept. 6 to 710 U.S. Highway 87 for a report that a female had been shot.

Several witnesses told deputies that Nichols, who was 19 at the time, had left the property before they arrived.

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The 17-year-old victim had been struck by a bullet in the midline of her neck near the esophagus with the bullet striking her lung and exiting near her left scapula, according to court documents.

She was transported to the Benefis Emergency Department for a collapsed lung.

The victim survived, according to the Cascade County Attorney’s Office.

The victim told deputies that she and a friend drove to the shop on the property after a high school football game.

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During the party, she was sitting in a chair in the middle of the shop and saw a fight break out between Nichols and another attendee over an accusation of a stolen firearm magazine.

She told deputies that Nichols had left the property after the fight, but returned and attempted to start another fire and brandished a firearm, according to charging documents.

She told deputies that when she saw the weapon, she moved near a closed garage door because she “didn’t want to get too close to the guy with the gun,” but while in that spot, she said she heard a “boom” and then had difficulty breathing, falling backward.

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Nichols called dispatch about an hour later, identifying himself as the shooter and said he was at Jaycee Park where he had put the firearm on a park table.

Deputies found him there with a Glock 43x with a 20-round magazine and Nichols told deputies that he cycled the slide of the handgun during the altercation knowing it was loaded, according to court documents.

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Investigators later reviewed two Snapchat videos taken by witnesses that show the altercation moving out of the shop with Nichols firing two bullets and one of them perforated the shop wall, striking the victim in her throat.