3 Confess To Assaulting Federal Cop on Crow Indian Reservation
A plea agreement inked by federal prosecutors and 38-year-old Darnell Lee Not Afraid on Aug. 3, 2022, caps his prison sentence at five years behind bars for assaulting a police officer in 2021 on the Crown Indian Reservation in Montana. Coffee or Die Magazine composite.
Two men and a woman have confessed to assaulting a federal lawman on the Crow Indian Reservation in 2021 and await sentencing.
On Wednesday, Sept. 14, in Billings, Montana, 38-year-old Darnell Lee Not Afraid pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm during the attack on the Bureau of Indian Affairs officer, which occurred in the hamlet of Lodge Grass following a high-speed pursuit of the Prior man, who had stolen a truck.
Not Afraid’s 25-year-old girlfriend, Darwyna Caylynn Catherine Bull Shows, pleaded guilty on July 12 to slapping the officer's face three times during the March 14, 2021, incident.
And on Thursday, Earl Landon Old Chief Jr. 36, pleaded guilty to joining a mob that attacked the officer and prevented him from arresting Not Afraid and Bull Shows, who fled to the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.
Federal officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs tackle a Montana blizzard sweeping the Crow Indian Reservation on Dec. 11, 2013. BIA law enforcement officers operate in more than 200 Indian communities nationwide. Bureau of Indian Affairs photo.
On March 27, 2021, tribal police there arrested the two fugitives following another vehicle chase that ended with Not Afraid brandishing a revolver.
The 2021 incident began when police started pursuing Not Afraid and Bull Shows, a chase that would last 25 minutes, with the stolen truck racing through residential neighborhoods, nearly striking several pedestrians.
At some point during the pursuit, Not Afraid slowed and let his girlfriend out before he sped on.
Not Afraid eventually braked in Lodge Grass — called Eelalapiío in Crow — and hopped out of his truck to flee on foot, a federal officer on his heels.
The officer — identified only by the last name “Wichita” in court documents — drew his Taser stun gun. Not Afraid spun around, pulled up his shirt, and yanked a silver revolver from his waistband.
On Jan. 25, 2013, federal officers from both the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services and the Crow Police visited the Lodge Grass K-12 School, located on the Crow Indian Reservation. Bureau of Indian Affairs photo.
The officer dropped his Taser, quickly unholstered his service pistol, and blasted multiple rounds at Not Afraid, winging his arm.
Wichita secured the revolver, which was loaded with seven rounds, but a gathering crowd never saw that.
They believed he’d shot Not Afraid in cold blood. That’s why some in the mob kept him from arresting Not Afraid while others helped the truck thief escape.
And that's when Old Chief entered the fray, according to court records. He charged out to Wichita, tossed a glass bottle at him, and then plucked the officer’s Taser off the ground.
Wichita never armed the Taser, so when the stun gun’s camera captured Old Chief aiming a red laser dot at the officer’s face, he knew the Lodge Grass man must’ve activated it.
And that’s when Wichita got lucky. Old Chief chucked the Taser at him instead of firing it.
In the heart of the Crow Tribe’s homeland, the Crow Indian Reservation was founded in 1868 and sprawls across parts of Big Horn, Treasure, and Yellowstone counties in Montana. Roughly 8,000 people live on the reservation, and one out of every five of them continues to use Crow as his first language. Bureau of Indian Affairs photo.
According to Bull Shows’ plea agreement, she also arrived alongside the crowd and slapped Wichita before escaping with her boyfriend.
She’s slated to be sentenced on Dec. 7 by US District Judge Susan P. Watters.
Not Afraid later confessed that he treated his gunshot wound by cauterizing it.
He’s already been convicted in Fort Belknap Tribal Court on 11 counts, including attempted assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest, and drug violations.
He was sentenced to a year behind bars on those charges. He later told authorities he’d intended to throw away his revolver and never considered shooting any federal officer on either of the reservations.
In the heart of the Crow Tribe’s homeland, the Crow Indian Reservation was founded in 1868 and sprawls across parts of Big Horn, Treasure, and Yellowstone counties in Montana. Roughly 8,000 people live on the reservation, and one out of every five of them continues to use Crow as his first language. Bureau of Indian Affairs photo.
The plea deal Not Afraid inked with federal prosecutors for the Lodge Grass fracas caps his prison time at five years, the mandatory minimum sentence.
Unlike Not Afraid and Bull Shows, Old Chief pleaded guilty without signing a deal, a move that preserves his right to appeal his conviction and sentence.
Attempts by Coffee or Die Magazine to reach all three defendants weren’t successful. Not Afraid and Old Chief remain incarcerated, pending their sentencing hearings. And Bull Shows doesn’t have a listed telephone number or email address.
Their attorneys also didn’t respond to Coffee or Die's messages seeking comment.
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Carl Prine is a former senior editor at Coffee or Die Magazine. He has worked at Navy Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He served in the Marine Corps and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. His awards include the Joseph Galloway Award for Distinguished Reporting on the military, a first prize from Investigative Reporters & Editors, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.
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