A $2 million bond was ordered for a Minot man making his initial court appearance Friday in connection with the murder of Mark Ramon McMillan.

Delon Davis, 46, Minot, made his initial appearance before North Central District Judge Douglas Mattson, on four charges: murder intentional or knowing, a Class AA felony; tampering with physical evidence-felony and theft-possession-firearm, both Class C felonies; and providing false information to law enforcement, a Class A misdemeanor. The murder charge carries a maximum penalty of life without parole.

Ward County Deputy State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen prefaced the state’s request for bond by sharing the sentiments of McMillan’s mother, who was unable to view the proceedings over Zoom.

“She is devastated and heartbroken over the loss of her son. This is a young man who has been missing since April. His mother has wondered where he has been for the last several months,” Sorgen said. “Part of the reason why he has been missing so long is because this particular defendant took great pains to conceal his victim’s body from detection. He took law enforcement on a wild goose chase by providing false information, trying to sow seeds of rumors of other instances of what had happened to this individual. The reason it took this long for the detection of the deceased is because of Mr. Davis.”

According to court documents, McMillan was reported missing to authorities on April 13 after falling out of contact with family members around April 3. Minot Police investigators determined McMillan’s last known location through his devices and social media accounts. It was discovered after reviewing those communications that there was an active feud between McMillan and Davis over stolen property and narcotics.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, investigators learned through tips and interviews with McMillan’s associates that he had been murdered in the basement of the commercial building in which he lived and identified Davis as a suspect in the murder.

The Minot Police Department executed a search warrant on the building on July 2. Davis was located in the building and arrested on active warrants for unrelated offenses but was determined to be one of three individuals who possessed keys to the building. McMillan’s body was found during the search, wrapped in a plastic air mattress in a room in the basement.

Court records indicate an autopsy determined McMillan’s cause of death was two gunshot wounds to the torso, including a shot to the heart that the medical examiner said would have been immediately fatal.

Davis was questioned by investigators at the Ward County Jail on July 2 and confirmed the feud was due to McMillan accusing him of stealing narcotics. According to the affidavit of probable cause, Davis told investigators McMillan and a Hispanic male arrived at the commercial building on April 3. After other workers and patrons left the building, Davis said he retrieved a “shop gun” from an upstairs room and took it to the basement to confront McMillan, whom he said had threatened to kill him over the stolen narcotics.

Davis claimed McMillan and the other individual drew guns on him and fired on him first, leading to him firing an unknown number of shots before he fled the building. Davis said he disposed of the firearm at a nearby gas station because he was a felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm. He said he had witnessed the Hispanic individual fleeing the scene in a vehicle.

Davis claimed he returned to the scene, where a third individual, later identified as Anthony Decoteau, directed him to dispose of McMillan’s body and clean the scene or harm would come to his family. Davis allegedly admitted to investigators that he concealed McMillan’s body in the air mattress and hid it in a rear utility area of the building before cleaning the scene.

According to court documents, investigators did not locate any bullet holes in the building to corroborate Davis’ version of events. They spoke with an individual who had talked with Davis after he was released from custody on July 2. That individual, William Weber, provided details on the incident, including the identities of other witnesses who were present at the time.

Investigators located and interviewed Weber on July 11, who confirmed he was present on April 3 with McMillan to purchase methamphetamine and give him a ride. Weber said he and McMillan went into the building’s basement for the transaction, but the narcotics appeared to be missing. McMillan ran back up the stairs, and Weber heard yelling, followed by gunshots. Weber said McMillan then came running down the stairs before collapsing and dying. Weber said he remained in the basement for several minutes before he fled the scene.

According to court documents, the owner of the firearm allegedly used in the murder reported it stolen on April 8. On July 12, Anthony Noble spoke with investigators and stated on April 3 Davis called him, telling him he had “taken a life,” and asked for his help retrieving the firearm from the garbage outside the gas station. Noble said he retrieved and returned the firearm to Davis, drove him to acquire cleaning supplies and observed McMillan’s body in the laundry room in the basement of the building.

During the hearing, Sorgen cited Davis’ long criminal history in the Minot and Ward County area, including two active felony cases in Ward County, in which warrants to apprehend were issued because he had fallen out of cooperation with pretrial services while out on bond. Sorgen said multiple sources and witnesses have told investigators that Davis had voiced plans to flee North Dakota to Florida when he was released from custody on July 2. She asked the court for a $2 million cash or corporate surety bond. Sorgen also requested a no contact order between Davis and McMillan’s parents.

Mattson inquired whether the purported statements by Davis regarding his intent to flee could be related to his other active cases, but Sorgen confirmed the comments were related to McMillan’s murder.

“Because we’ve been hearing this information from multiple witnesses, but also due to the nature of the fact this was an investigation going on for multiple months into the disappearance of an individual who is deceased that could have come to a resolution much faster but for Mr. Davis’s tampering with physical evidence and hindering that investigation,” Sorgen said.

Davis denied he ever intended to flee to Florida but said he would otherwise not contest the requested bond.

“I’ve been here the whole time and I haven’t gone anywhere. My home is here. My children are here. Everything, my career has been here. Whatever they ask for I’m not going to fight it,” Davis said.

Mattson ordered the $2 million bond and the no contact order, and scheduled Davis for a preliminary hearing to be held Thursday, Aug. 29.