Shooting on Hugel Street

At approximately 2 p.m. on Oct. 23, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Dispatch Center received information regarding a gunshot heard in Ennis. The Ennis Police Department (EPD), MCSO and United States Forest Service Law Enforcement with Ennis Ambulance responded to 510 W. Hugel Street.

Nicole Watson, 36-year-old from Helena, Mont., was shot and killed as the result of a gunshot wound. Rick E. Park, 53-year-old from Ennis, Mont., has been held and charged with deliberate homicide resulting in the death of Watson. Park was also charged with assault with a weapon for, “purposely or knowingly using a handgun in a manner that caused reasonable apprehension of seriously bodily injury in Christian Watson,” according to court documents.

The maximum punishment by law for deliberate homicide, a felony, is death, life imprisonment or 10-100 years imprisonment in the state prison. The maximum punishment by law for assault with a weapon, a felony, is 20 years imprisonment in the state prison, a maximum $50,000 fine or both.

There is no threat to the community, EPD said in a press release.

This story was updated to correct an error in the presentation of Park's charges on Oct. 29.