Not Guilty Plea Entered in State Park Murder Case

ALBERT LEA, Minn. (AP) — A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to charges he fatally shot another man at a state park in southern Minnesota this summer.

David Michael Easter of Brownsdale entered his provisional plea to second-degree murder Thursday. Easter claims self-defense in the Aug. 23 shooting of 23-year-old Spencer Daniel Brown at Myre-Big Island State Park.

Authorities say Brown was found dead in a locked station wagon in a parking lot after dispatchers got a 911 call from Easter.

Easter told dispatchers he shot Brown in self-defense and said Brown approached him with what appeared to be a bat. But authorities say evidence does not show the shooting was in self-defense.

Easter is free after posting $100,000 bond. The Albert Lea Tribune reports a settlement conference is scheduled for Jan. 5.