U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Montana issued the following announcement on March 17.
A Lame Deer man accused of shooting a woman in the head during an evening of drinking today admitted assault charges, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.
Jolson Hubert Bearcomesout, 39, pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Bearcomesout faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided and will recommend that U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters accept Bearcomesout’s plea. Watters is presiding in the case. A sentencing date will be set. Bearcomesout was detained.
In court records filed in the case, the prosecution said the evidence would show that on June 1, 2019, Bearcomesout, the victim, identified as Jane Doe, and others were at Bearcomesout’s house and drinking.
By evening, the group was in Bearcomesout’s bedroom, where they drank and danced. At one point, Bearcomesout sat in a chair and Jane Doe sat between his legs with her head in his lap. Bearcomesout took a firearm, a 9mm pistol that was on the bed, pointed it at Jane Doe’s head and pulled the trigger. A bullet entered Jane Doe’s neck and exited through the backside of her left shoulder.
Bearcomesout took the pistol and an AR-15 and fled. He was arrested in Forsyth. In an interview with law enforcement, Bearcomesout said he did not know there was a bullet in the chamber and that he was “just fooling around.”
Jane Doe was taken to the Indian Health Service in Lame Deer and ultimately transported to the University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City, where she was treated for multiple injuries and complications.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan Dake is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Original source can be found here.
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