GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A first-degree murder charge has been dropped against a motorcycle club member after an interview with the suspect's co-defendant gave police new information.
The Grand Junction Sentinel reports that 42-year-old Rufus Billups pleaded guilty on Monday to felony counts of attempting to influence a public servant and possession of a weapon by a previous offender, but is no longer facing a murder charge for the March 2017 killing of 38-year-old Dion Nixon.
Billups was one of three members of the Sin City Deciples motorcycle club arrested in the wake of the shooting. The others are 49-year-old Richard A. Byrd and 39-year-old Gregory Clark.
Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said an interview with Clark prompted him to drop the homicide-related charges against Billups.
