Hearing conducted, no trial date yet for rural Paynesville, Minn., man indicted for murder

WILLMAR -- Timothy John Huber, 46, of rural Paynesville, appeared for an omnibus hearing this morning in Kandiyohi County District Court.

Huber did not enter a plea to the first- and second-degree murder charges against him for his role in the October 2011 shooting death of Timothy Larson at a rural Belgrade residence. No new court date was set for Huber, as attorneys in the case will now file briefs on motions in the case. The motions include a motion by the defense to dismiss the first-degree murder charge, and a motion by prosecution to allow evidence of prior conduct to be admitted in the case.

District Judge Donald M. Spilseth heard testimony from a Kandiyohi County sheriff's detective regarding the condition of two tractors parked at a neighboring farm by the Hubers during the Oct. 8 incident.

Huber and his father, Delbert Huber, 82, were both indicted on first-degree murder charges for their roles in the Oct. 8, 2011, shooting death of Larson, 43, of Albertville. They also face second-degree murder charges. The shooting happened after Larson allegedly confronted the Hubers about the machinery, which was parked on his father, Norman Larson's farm. The Hubers moved the machinery, but then returned the next morning with Delbert Huber shooting Larson in the chest with a high-powered rifle.

Delbert Huber entered a guilty plea to second-degree murder on Aug. 3 and is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Tuesday by District Judge Michael J. Thompson. The first-degree indictment against the elder Huber was dismissed as a condition of his guilty plea. He is to be sentenced according to state guidelines, which could send him to prison for 25 years.