April 1 trial set in Great Falls fall death

 GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- Trial is set to begin in April for a 24-year-old
Nevada man who is charged with negligent homicide in the death of another man at
a party in July 2011.
   Mario Juan Drake had earlier pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in the death
of Cody Palmer, but former District Judge Thomas McKittrick rejected a plea
agreement that called for a 10-year sentence with the Department of Corrections
with six suspended.
   Prosecutors allege Drake punched Palmer in the neck on July 3, 2011, causing
Palmer to fall down some stairs and strike his head on the sidewalk. Palmer died
 of his injuries later that evening.
   The Great Falls Tribune reports  Drake's trial is scheduled to start April 1.