BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - Federal prosecutors are stepping into a case against three men accused of beating a man at a Mandan car wash.
The Bismarck Tribune reported that Justcye Houle, Michael Baker and Vegas Morin were originally charged in Morton County in May for plotting to lure a man to the Turbo Car Wash and robbing him of his drugs and drug sale money. They allegedly pulled the man from his car, beat and kicked him and stole $300 from him.
The newspaper reports that a federal grand jury has indicted all three on weapons charges and interfering with commerce by threats or violence under the Hobbs Act, a 1946 law designed to combat racketeering.
All three men have pleaded not guilty in federal court. They’re scheduled for a joint trial on Sept. 22.
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