U.S. Marshalls arrested Lovelace on August 18, 1996, for a federal parole violation. While in custody, he confessed to murdering Jeremy Scott in 1995. Lovelace shot Jeremy Scott in the back of the head with a .38 caliber handgun. He had previously taken Scott at gunpoint and held him through the night, talking, discussing religion, and praying. During the early morning hours, Lovelace shot Scott in the back of his head, killing him instantly. Early the next morning, Lovelace hauled Scott’s body to a remote mountainous area and buried him along a roadside. The crime was undiscovered until Lovelace’s confession.

In September of 1997, Lovelace was tried in First District Court in Bonner County for first degree murder and first degree kidnapping. Lovelace, still representing himself, presented no evidence, except for a statement to the jury wherein he admitted the elements of the state’s case. Lovelace asked the jury to find him guilty and requested that the judge sentence him to death. On September 11, 1997, the jury returned guilty verdicts on the charges of first degree murder and first degree kidnapping. On December 17, 1997, First District Judge James F. Judd sentenced Lovelace to death.