Conviction of Dunseith man on attempted murder, burglary upheld by ND Supreme Court

BISMARCK, ND ( KXNET ) — The North Dakota Supreme Court Thursday upheld the conviction of a Dunseith man accused of attempted murder and burglary in a 2021 incident.

Bradley Vervalen, was charged with burglary and attempted murder on February 21, 2021. He was accused of going into the home of his children’s mother and attacking her boyfriend, stabbing him several times with a knife. In 2023, he was found guilty of the two charges and sentenced to prison.

Vervalen appealed the conviction on two points involving the jury instructions.

First, Vervalen argued because it was undisputed he was intoxicated at the time of the offenses, prosecutors were required to prove that his intoxication did not prevent him from forming the required culpability for the crimes, and that the district court was required to instruct the jury on this element.

Second, he argued the instructions on “attempted murder” deviated from the murder statute, thus creating a nonexistent crime.

The North Dakota Supreme Court noted Vervalen didn’t object to the lack of a “voluntary intoxication” instruction when reviewing the proposed jury instructions, nor did he specifically ask that instructions on “voluntary intoxication” be given to the jury. The court also noted that “voluntary intoxication” is not a defense to a criminal charge.

On the second point, the court noted Vervalen objected to the instructions containing both a “knowing” culpability instruction and an “intentional” culpability instruction. He asked for and was granted the removal of the “knowing” culpability instruction. Asked if there were any other objections, Vervalen’s attorney said no and the instructions were adopted.

Based on this, the court ruled there were no errors committed in the instructions and upheld Vervalen’s conviction.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KX NEWS.