The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on May 28, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, KYLE LEE FULMER, a 29-year-old resident of Colstrip, pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Sentencing has been set for Sept. 11, 2013. He is currently released on special conditions.
In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On Sept. 19, 2012, at approximately 2:30 a.m., law enforcement received a call about a one-vehicle rollover crash on South Tongue River road, near Ashland, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The first officer on scene, a deputy from Rosebud County, identified FULMER as the driver of the Chevy pickup involved in the crash. FULMER, who was ejected from the truck, admitted that he was the driver and that he had been drinking. The deceased passenger was found in the passenger seat inside of the pickup wearing a seat belt. The passenger died of multiple acute blunt traumatic injuries to the upper body.
FULMER was interviewed and admitted that he was driving his pickup on South Tongue River road. He lost control of the pickup, drove through a barbed wire fence, rolled down an embankment, and ended up upright in a field. There were beer cans and bottles near the truck. He had been drinking alcohol prior to the crash. His BAC was.137. This analysis was performed on a sample of FULMER's blood taken some hours after the crash.
FULMER is a non-Indian, but the victim was an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.
FULMER faces possible penalties of 8 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
