Moorhead man will serve 9 years for manslaughter

FARGO — A 20-year-old Moorhead man will serve nine years for causing a man's death by striking him in the head with a skateboard in downtown Fargo last August. Tabias Jamal Walker pleaded guilty in June to two Class B felonies: manslaughter and aggravated assault causing permanent loss or impairment. Both charges mention the use of a weapon and carry maximum 10-year sentences. At his sentencing hearing Monday, Oct. 12, Walker apologized to the family of the victim, 55-year-old John Pilcher, and specifically to Pilcher's mother for having to bury her son. "I am the only one to blame," Walker said. "... Everybody makes mistakes, and I ended up making a mistake that took someone's life. And now I have to live with it for the rest of my life." Walker assaulted Pilcher in the early morning hours of Aug. 3, 2025. A passerby found Pilcher in the 300 block of Broadway, bleeding from a cut on his forehead. He had been struck once by the "truck" of Walker's skateboard, t