The man accused of killing the daughter of a Crow tribal official pleaded not guilty Monday in federal court in Billings.
Taylor Leigh Plainbull, 27, a transient, is facing charges of first-degree murder, assault with intent to commit murder and two counts of use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
According to U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme, Plainbull shot and killed 26-year-old Lenita Goes Ahead, daughter of Carlton Goes Ahead, on Oct. 24 on Blue Creek Road on the Crow reservation and threatened another man.
Alme said in a release that Plainbull was driving a stolen truck when he saw Goes Ahead, his ex-girlfriend, going the other way with the man and a child.
The man in the vehicle told authorities Plainbull turned around, forced Goes Ahead's vehicle into a ditch, then approached the vehicle with a gun. While the man was calling 911, he heard gunshots and saw Goes Ahead had been shot.
Plainbull was arrested three days later after a standoff with police at the Rodeway Inn in Billings.
If convicted, Plainbull faces mandatory life in prison for the first-degree murder charge and up to $750,000 in fines for all three charges.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided and ordered Plain Bull detained pending further proceedings.
The FBI investigated the case.
