Hays woman pleads guilty to assault on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

GREAT FALLS - A Hays woman accused of an assault on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Alta Rose Chandler, 24, pleaded guilty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Chandler faces up to 10 years in prison, a $100,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is set for May 14, 2026. Chandler was released with conditions pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that on the evening of September 29, 2023, Chandler and Heavenlee Sears were driving around on the Fort Belknap reservation and drinking beer. Late in the night, the two went to a bar to buy more alcohol before driving to John Doe’s home.

When Chandler and Sears arrived at Doe’s house, they were highly intoxicated, and they beat him. Sears hit Doe multiple times on the head with a peppermint schnapps bottle. Chandler hit Doe with her fists after he had fallen to the ground.

Around 6:00 a.m. on September 30, Sears called a family member to say something was wrong with Doe. Family arrived and found Chandler trying to clean up blood on the floor. According to the witness, Chandler rubbed some of the blood on her arm and said, “I did this. I mean, my dad did this.” Witnesses saw a glass peppermint schnapps bottle at the scene.

Doe was taken to Fort Belknap Indian Health Services. He was unresponsive and breathing erratically. After he was intubated, Doe was life flighted to a higher level of care. On October 18, 2023, Doe was admitted to the Long-Term Care Hospital in Billings, Montana. He was diagnosed with traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage. Doe was largely unresponsive to stimuli and completely nonverbal due to his traumatic brain injury. Doe died on December 11, 2023.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services conducted the investigation.

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