Man pleads guilty to shooting man near Idaho Falls Temple
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IDAHO FALLS – A man pleaded guilty on Monday to charges for his role in a 2022 shooting near the Idaho Falls Temple.
Frederick Marshall Free, 25, pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance in front of District Judge Michael Whyte.
Free initially pleaded not guilty but signed a plea agreement in October, where he agreed to plead guilty to both charges, and the prosecution agreed to recommend a minimum of one and a half years and a maximum of four and a half years in prison, at sentencing.
The plea agreement is not binding on the court, meaning Whyte does not have to agree to either party’s recommendations for sentencing. If he sentences Free to something other than the recommended sentence, Free will not be allowed to withdraw his plea.
During the change-of-plea hearing, Free admitted to the crime, saying he shot then-29-year-old Austin James Kuck with a handgun.
Whyte scheduled the sentencing for Jan. 2 at 10:30 a.m.
Background of the case
According to court records, Idaho Falls police were dispatched to an area near the Idaho Falls Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on Memorial Drive on May 8, 2020, around 8 p.m.
Officers were told there was a shooting and everyone involved had already run away. The man who had been shot, later identified as Kuck, was already at the Idaho Falls Community Hospital with a gunshot wound to the hand.
Officers identified Free as the person who had shot Kuck and the person who called the police.
He told police he was involved in the shooting and was now at an Idaho Falls home.
When police interviewed Kuck, he told them that he was suspicious of his ex-girlfriend and Free. He said he thought they had broken into his home.
He confronted the two, and found his DVR in Free’s truck. While Kuck and Free were arguing, Free pulled out a gun, Kuck later told police.
Kuck said, “Are you going to shoot me?” to which Free reportedly responded, “Yes,” and shot him in the hand.
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Kuck told police that he ran back to his car, and Free drove away. Kuck went back to his home, and a friend drove him to the hospital.
When officers interviewed Free, they were given a similar version of the story.
Free told police that Kuck threw the DVR at his truck. When officers asked him if Kuck had a weapon, Free said he “could not say that he did.”
Free told officers that he had a “fear for his safety” and shot Kuck because he had “reached for his pocket.” According to court records, Free believed that Kuck was reaching for a gun. However, he also told police that Kuck did not threaten him at any point.
According to Kuck’s ex-girlfriend, who was with Free, Kuck fired “five or six shots” at the truck as they drove away from the area. Police went back to the hospital to interview Kuck again, where they told him there was camera footage of the shooting.
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Kuck told police that he “didn’t really want to say anything, but if there was video, then he would say it was self-defense.” The officer told Kuck that self-defense does not apply since the truck was driving away from him and he was not in any imminent danger.
The next day, officers served a search warrant at a home in Idaho Falls where Free was believed to be staying. They discovered fentanyl in the bedroom, and Free, along with the ex-girlfriend, were charged with felony possession of a controlled substance.
Kuck was sentenced in April to a minimum of five and a maximum of 15 years in prison.