Jerard Davind Threefingers, accused of running over a Lame Deer mother of three in 2020 on the Northern Cheyenne reservation, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in federal court in Billings Friday, according to acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson.
The charge stems from the death of 33-year-old Christy Woodenthigh of Lame Deer, who was run over by a vehicle driven by Threefingers in March 2020. The couple had two children together.
Federal prosecutors alleged in court documents that Threefingers, Woodenthigh, and other were drinking at a Muddy Cluster house on the reservation on March 6, 2020.
Threefingers and Woodenthigh began arguing, and he drove away, then returned. The two continued their argument, and Woodenthigh tried to punch at Threefingers through the car window and grabbed the door handle as the car drove away, according to court documents.
Her hand became lodged in the handle, and she fell and got caught under the car, according to court documents.
Threefingers took her to a relative's house, where an ambulance was called and she was rushed to the hospital. She was pronounced dead of multiple blunt force trauma.
U.S. District Judge Susan Watters set sentencing for September 17.
Threefingers, 31 years old, faces a statutory maximum of eight years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. A plea agreement filed in the case calls for a term of five years of probation to be imposed if the judge accepts the agreement at sentencing. The judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
