Terry Nolan, 52, and Barry Ford, 51, along with two other members of the club called the Hidalgos were convicted June 15 by a Pierce County jury of second-degree murder in the death of Dana Beaudine, 38.

The prosecution couldn’t prove who stabbed Beaudine, and the jury convicted all of the defendants as equal accomplices.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Brian Tollefson sentenced Nolan to 16 years, two months in prison. He also was convicted of second-degree assault for hitting another man over the head during the April 5 fight outside the Bull’s Eye Sports Lounge.

Ford was sentenced to 13 years, three months.

Sentences for both men were in the mid-range of the state’s sentencing guidelines for second-degree murder.

Prior to the Tollefson’s sentencing, both Beaudine’s ex-wife Michelle Beaudine and his fiancé Shannon Ford spoke to the court about the terrible loss of the man they both loved.

“They have no excuse for what they did,” Michelle Beaudine said. “They took a daddy away from his three children and my best friend away from me. I’d like to see life without parole, but I know it won’t happen.”

Beaudine’s three young children, she said, live in fear of motorcycles and suffer mentally every day. They are full of anger and sadness, Michelle Beaudine said.

Shannon Ford said she and Beaudine were to be married Sept. 27 and now instead of walking down an aisle in her wedding dress she will walk the grassy path to his gravestone at Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent.

She recalled holding Beaudine in her arms as he bled to death.

“I can’t get past this horrific event,” she said.

Nolan’s wife, Rhonda Nolan, also spoke to the court and explained that her husband of 24 years was the kind of man who stopped fights, not started them.

“He jumped in to help someone at the wrong time,” she said. “That was his only downfall. He didn’t murder Dana. He didn’t hit Dana. He’s here for something he didn’t do.”

She said the Hidalgos were just a group of five guys who got together once a week and went on rides. The one who started the fight with Beaudine wasn’t in the courtroom, she said.

Nolan spoke, too. He told Beaudine’s family and friends that he understood their loss.

“I don’t remember what occurred that night ,” he said, adding that they weren’t a motorcycle gang. He assured Beaudine’s family they had nothing ever to fear from the Hidalgos.

“Everyone in the courtroom has lost,” Nolan said.

Two other men convicted in the murder, Mike Robert McCreven, 46, and Carl Lee Smith, 48, will be sentenced later this summer.

Attorneys for Nolan and Ford said they plan to appeal their convictions and seek a new trial.

Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692

mike.archbold@thenewstribune.com

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