Thompson Densmore St. Pierre Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on October 20, 2011, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, THOMPSON DENSMORE ST. PIERRE, a 21-year-old resident of Box Elder, pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon. Sentencing has been set for January 26, 2012. He is currently detained.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael T. Wolfe, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

In the early morning of June 19, 2010, the victim was awoken while sleeping in his room by sounds in the house. At the time, the victim was living with his uncle near Box Elder, which is within the exterior boundaries of the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation.

The victim was startled as his bedroom light was turned on and he saw an individual standing over him. Then, two other individuals, who had hooded sweatshirts on and bandanas over their mouths, attacked the victim and were stabbing him with two sharp objects. The victim was able to identify one of aggressors who was stabbing him as ST. PIERRE.

After a period of time, the victim remembers that ST. PIERRE left his room, but two other individuals entered and began to stab and beat him. One of these individuals hit the victim in the head with a glass bottle which broke on impact. The individual then proceeded to stab the victim with the broken bottle.

The victim’s uncle was in the home, asleep, during the attack. His uncle woke up during the commotion and entered the victim’s room after the perpetrators had fled the home. He earlier had locked his doors that night, but the front door was kicked in.

The victim’s cousin, who also lives at the uncle’s home, was also there the night of the incident. The victim’s cousin heard the commotion and the victim yelling for his help. He came out of his room and saw a hooded male in a Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt, the male had a broken bottle in his hand and blood on the sweatshirt. The victim’s cousin identified ST. PIERRE and one of the other individuals as they left the victim’s room. When he entered the victim’s room, he saw blood everywhere, and saw multiple stab wounds in the victim’s chest area and thought the victim would die from the wounds.

The victim’s cousin called Rocky Boy’s Tribal Police Dispatch at 4:17 a.m. and officers responded. Officers observed three males running from the victim’s residence and flee in a green and tan Chevy truck. Officers pursued the Chevy truck and soon saw the truck stop outside a home. The officers saw five males run from the truck upon arriving. The officers chased down two of the males in a nearby field—apprehending ST. PIERRE and another individual. Officers recovered two knives from the truck, found blood on the passenger door, and a hammer outside the truck on the ground. Officers confiscated the arrested males’ clothing, a knife sheath, the hammer found outside the truck, and broken glass bottles found in the victim’s room, which were used to stab the victim.

The victim was transported in an ambulance to the hospital in Havre. The admitting and attending physician would have testified that he found multiple stab wounds on the victim’s upper chest and lacerations on his arms, chest, and head. One laceration on his arm/hand had caused minor sensory nerve damage. The victim received sutures on the lacerations on his head, chest, and arms. The injuries resulted in extreme physical pain, and the nerve damage involved the impairment of the function of a bodily member.

One witness would have testified that he drove five males to the victim’s home that night. This witness would also have testified that ST. PIERRE kicked in the victim’s front door and then all the individuals entered the victim’s home.

Another witness would have testified that he and four friends were drinking earlier that night and ST. PIERRE began to get agitated, saying that the victim had assaulted his cousin. This witness would have testified that the individuals devised a plan to break into the victim’s home and beat him up. This witness would also have testified that he did not want to be involved but the other boys forced him to go. Upon arriving at the victim’s home, this witness stated that ST. PIERRE approached the home with a bottle in one hand and a hammer in the other. ST. PIERRE kicked in the door, and the witness watched ST. PIERRE and the other individuals enter into the victim’s home.

An FBI DNA Forensic Examiner who analyzed the clothing and items submitted, would have testified that the broken bottle found in the victim’s bedroom came back with the victim’s DNA as a major contributor for blood; the victim’s blood was positively identified on ST. PIERRE’s sweatshirt; and the victim’s blood was found on the hammer.

ST. PIERRE faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years’ supervised release.

The investigation was conducted by the Rocky Boy’s Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.