Dallas and Nichole Rice archery group theft case
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Related Coverage: Dallas Rice taken into custody after court rejects plea deal in archery club theft case
UPDATE (9/18/2026): A change of plea and sentencing for one of the two people charged with stealing money from a Minot-area archery group will likely be pushed back.
The defense and prosecution in the case of Dallas Rice have agreed to delay his hearing from Sept. 28 to Oct. 16, according to court records filed this week.
Prosecutors say Dallas and co-defendant Nichole Rice took more than $180,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen, over the course of three years, while serving as the group’s president and treasurer. The money was paid back to the group before formal charges were filed.
On Wednesday, Nichole pleaded guilty to a felony charge and was ordered to serve 60 days in jail and two years of supervised probation. At her hearing, prosecutors indicated they would be making a similar sentencing recommendation for Dallas, but with more jail time.
The judge has yet to sign off on the matter.
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Potential agreement in place for Dallas Rice in archery group theft case
UPDATE (5/18/2026): One of the two suspects charged with stealing money from a Minot-area archery group has filed to waive his preliminary hearing later this month and plead not guilty.
Dallas Rice faces two felony counts in connection with thousands of dollars stolen from the group Souris Valley Bowmen. Prosecutors say Dallas and his wife and co-defendant, Nichole Rice, took more than $180,000 from the group over the course of three years, while serving as part of the group’s leadership with access to its bank accounts.
According to court records, Dallas filed what’s known as a Rule 43 request to waive his right to a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 26 and automatically plead not guilty to the charges.
The preliminary hearing is where the court determines whether there is probable cause to move forward with a charge. It is a low burden of proof and is not a determination of guilt. If the court determines the burden for probable cause is met, the case moves to arraignment, usually immediately, where the defendant enters a plea.
The court still has to sign off on the request, though it is largely procedural and almost always approved.
Nichole has already waived her early hearings and pleaded not guilty, and has a trial set for mid-November.
UPDATE (5/5/2026): The courts scheduled a jury trial for later this year for one of the two defendants accused of stealing money from a Minot-area archery group.
Nichole Rice has a three-day trial scheduled to begin Nov. 16 in Minot.
Her husband and co-defendant Dallas Rice will be back in court on May 26 for his preliminary hearing and arraignment.
Investigators say the pair stole more than $180,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen over the course of three years, while serving as part of the group’s leadership.
Nichole has a pretrial conference on Nov. 6.
UPDATE (4/24/2026): Nichole Rice has waived her court appearances scheduled for May 1, in the charges she faces in an investigation into stolen money from a Minot-area archery group, and pleaded not guilty, court records show.
Rice had an initial appearance, preliminary hearing and arraignment scheduled for that day before they were canceled on Friday. A future court appearance in Nichole’s case has not been scheduled yet.
Nichole and Dallas Rice are accused of stealing more than $180,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen over the course of three years while serving on the organization’s board. The Rices are no longer affiliated with the group.
As of Friday, Nichole’s husband and co-defendant, Dallas Rice, has his preliminary hearing and arraignment before Judge Gary Lee scheduled for May 26.
UPDATE (4/22/2026): The courts have approved expanded media coverage for the May 1 initial appearance for Nichole Rice.
Rice faces a pair of felony charges in connection with the case, an A-felony and a B-felony.
The appearance is at 10 a.m. Your News Leader will bring coverage.
Related Coverage: Dallas Rice makes first court appearance in archery group theft case
UPDATE (4/15/2026 at 3:25 p.m.): Judge Gary Lee has approved in-court coverage for local media outlets, including KMOT-TV, for the Monday, April 20 initial court appearance for Dallas Rice, and all future proceedings in his case file. The hearing will not be held over Zoom.
This only applies to Dallas’ case file. Co-defendant Nichole Rice’s case is being handled by a different judge and has a different case number, and will require a separate media order from that judge.
UPDATE (4/15/2026 at 2:20 p.m.): The courts have scheduled an initial appearance, as well as a preliminary hearing and arraignment, for Nichole Rice for Friday, May 1, at 10 a.m. in Minot.
Nichole and her co-defendant and husband, Dallas Rice, are charged with stealing more than $180,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen over roughly three years, while serving as the group’s president and secretary/treasurer.
A person charged has the option of waiving their preliminary hearing and entering a not guilty plea.
The North Dakota Supreme Court agreed to reassign Nichole’s case to Judge Benjamen Johnson with the Northwest Judicial District, who, according to court records, will conduct the hearing in Minot.
Dallas’ initial appearance remains scheduled for Monday, April 20, at 10 a.m. in Minot. The high court rejected a request to reassign Dallas’ case, which for now remains with Judge Gary Lee in the North Central District.
At an initial appearance, a person charged is presented with the charges they are facing, read their rights, and set a bond. At a preliminary hearing, the court determines whether there is probable cause to move forward with the case, which is a low burden of proof and not a determination of guilt. If the court rules probable cause has been reached, the case moves to arraignment, where the person charged enters their plea.
Those who are charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
UPDATE (4/1/2026 at 5:05 p.m.): Following the ruling from the North Dakota Supreme Court, the district court rescheduled the initial court appearance for Dallas Rice to April 20 at 10 a.m. in Minot.
An initial appearance for his co-defendant, Nichole Rice, has yet to be scheduled.
UPDATE (4/1/2026 at 4:40 p.m.): The North Dakota Supreme Court has made a split decision regarding requests to assign new judges in a Minot archery group theft case, reassigning one but denying another.
According to court records filed Wednesday, the high court reassigned the case file for Nichole Rice to Judge Benjamen Johnson of the Northwest Judicial District.
The state supreme court denied a request to reassign the case file for Nichole’s husband, Dallas Rice, records show. For now, his case remains assigned to Judge Gary Lee.
The pair is charged with stealing more than $180,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen over roughly three years, while serving as the group’s president and secretary/treasurer.
The judges of the North Central Judicial District filed a request to have the cases reassigned to an outside judge, citing their familiarity with the defendants.
Judge Richard Hagar, of the North Central district, presided over Nichole’s trial last March, where she was acquitted of a murder charge in the 2007 killing of her then-roommate Anita Knutson in Minot.
According to court records, Dallas has had no other recent criminal proceedings before judges in North Dakota.
An initial appearance for both defendants has yet to be rescheduled.
UPDATE (3/31/2026): The court has canceled the initial appearance next month for the second of two defendants charged in an investigation into the theft of thousands of dollars from a Minot-area archery club.
Dallas Rice was supposed to make his initial appearance on April 20 on charges of theft and conspiracy to commit theft.
On Saturday, Your News Leader reported that Nichole Rice’s appearance for the same day had been canceled.
Prosecutors say the pair stole more than $180,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen over the course of three years while serving as the group’s president and treasurer/secretary.
The judges of the North Central Judicial District are asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to assign an outside judge to the cases, due to their familiarity with the defendants.
As of midday Tuesday, Judge Gary Lee remained assigned to their cases, and no future court hearings had been scheduled.
UPDATE (3/28/2026): The courts have canceled an upcoming court appearance for one of the suspects charged in an investigation into stolen money from a Minot-area archery group, online records show.
Nichole Rice was supposed to appear on April 20 for an initial appearance. The reason for the cancellation was not made clear, though the judges of the North Central district are asking for a judge outside of their district to take over the cases of Nichole and her co-defendant and husband, Dallas Rice, saying their knowledge of the defendants would prompt a recusal from all.
As of Friday, Dallas’ hearing, also scheduled for April 20, had not yet.
The pair face felony charges after prosecutors say they took more than $180,000 from Souris Valley Bowmen, the group they served as president and treasurer of, over the course of three years.
The Supreme Court has yet to reassign the cases to another judge or judges. For now, Judge Gary Lee remains assigned. Judge Steven Lautt already recused himself, and Judge Richard Hagar presided over Nichole’s trial last March, where she was acquitted of murder in the 2007 killing of her then-roommate Anita Knutson in Minot.
Todd Cresap and Stacy Louser are the other judges in the North Central District.
UPDATE (3/23/2026): The judges of the North Central Judicial District are asking the state Supreme Court to reassign the theft cases of Dallas and Nichole Rice to an outside judge.
In filings in both cases last Friday, Richard Hagar, the acting presiding judge for the district, asked the high court to assign each case to a judge in a different district.
The cases are currently assigned to Judge Gary Lee, after Judge Steven Lautt recused himself last week. Shortly after the assignment, Nichole filed a request for a different judge.
“The Defendant is well known to all of the Judges of the North Central Judicial District. All other judges of this District have stated that they would likewise recuse themselves from any related proceedings,” wrote Hagar in the brief in Nichole’s case.
In both filings, Hagar wrote the district wants “to avoid the appearance of impropriety or bias.”
In Dallas’ case, Hagar asks that his case be tracked with hers, essentially moving both cases through the system together.
The Supreme Court has yet to reassign the cases. For now, both have initial appearances in Minot on April 20.
ORIGINAL STORY (3/19/2026): There are new developments Thursday in the case of a husband and wife charged with stealing thousands of dollars from a Minot-area archery club.
Dallas and Nichole Rice face felony charges after prosecutors said they took a combined $183,000 from the group Souris Valley Bowmen and used the money for personal expenses over the course of three years.
Nichole Rice demands a new judge
In a court filing Thursday, Nichole Rice has requested a demand for a change of judge in the case and requested one from a different judicial district.
In the filing, her attorney asked that Judge Gary Lee be disqualified and the presiding judge for the South Central Judicial District assign a new one.
On Wednesday, we reported Judge Gary Lee was assigned to the case after Judge Steven Lautt recused himself. Lee and Lautt are two of the five judges in the North Central District, which comprises Ward, Mountrail and Burke Counties.
The South Central District covers nine different counties, including Burleigh and Morton.
Nichole’s request does not list a specific reason for wanting to have Lee removed from the case.
Last March, Nichole stood trial on a murder charge in the 2007 death of her then-roommate Anita Knutson.
The case was moved to Grand Forks, where a Grand Forks County jury acquitted her of the charge.
North Central District Judge Richard Hagar presided over Nichole’s murder case, from her initial appearance following her arrest in 2022, through her 2025 trial.
Lee did not have any public connection to the case, and Lautt was sworn in as a judge after the murder trial was over.
The courts have yet to file a ruling on the demand for a change of judge.
Judge denies Dallas Rice’s request to waive initial appearance
Judge Gary Lee denied a request from Dallas to waive appearing in-person for his initial court appearance and have his attorney enter a not guilty plea on his behalf. The order means that Dallas would have to appear in person.
Both Dallas and Nichole have initial court appearances scheduled for April 20 in Minot.
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