Cavalier County Resident Charged With Murder, Held on $2 Million Bond

Russell Andrew Hiltner, 33, of Langdon is sitting in Cavalier County Jail on a $2 million cash bond after allegedly pulling a pistol from beneath a couch cushion and shooting a man dead at his Wales home the evening of March 26.

Cavalier County deputies arrived around 9:30 p.m. and found the victim lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound to the chest. According to court documents, a witness told investigators that Hiltner had walked up to the man, embraced him, and then told him "you stole something from me" before drawing the weapon and firing. The witness told deputies she feared she was next.

Hiltner then stole the victim's vehicle and fled. He was later found injured from a crash, transported to Langdon Hospital, and airlifted to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks. The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation executed a search warrant on Hiltner's home just after midnight on March 27, recovering a 9mm bullet embedded in the living room wall, a 9mm shell casing near where the victim fell, and a 9mm firearm from Hiltner's vehicle.

He faces Class AA felony murder, Class B felony theft of property, and Class B felony terrorizing. A conviction on the murder charge carries up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

At a March 30 bond hearing before Northeast Judicial District Judge Ashley Samuelson, Hiltner appeared by remote connection from his hospital bed. Prosecutors requested $5 million, citing the "callous nature" of the alleged crime. Samuelson set bond at $2 million cash. The cash-only designation is significant: unlike a standard surety bond, which allows a bondsman to post 10 percent, a cash bond requires the full $2 million to be paid before Hiltner can be released. Judges in North Dakota typically reserve that restriction for cases with the highest assessed risk of flight or danger to the community, making it a signal worth noting in any jurisdiction across the state, Stutsman County included.

Hiltner has since been medically cleared and booked into Cavalier County Jail. His initial appearance is set for 9 a.m. on April 9 in Northeast District Court. Court records show he had been sentenced just last November to 119 days of electronic home monitoring after pleading guilty to marijuana possession, consuming alcohol in a public place, and disorderly conduct.