A woman from Hays, Montana, has pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury after an incident on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme.
Heavenlee Drewann Sears, 24, entered her plea before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris. She faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for March 12, 2026. Sears remains in custody pending further proceedings.
According to court documents, on the night of September 29, 2023, Sears and a co-defendant were driving around the reservation while drinking beer. Later that night they purchased more alcohol at a bar before going to John Doe’s residence.
When they arrived at Doe’s home, both were highly intoxicated and assaulted him. Sears struck Doe multiple times on the head with a peppermint schnapps bottle. At about 6:00 a.m. on September 30, Sears called a family member expressing concern about Doe's condition. While waiting for help to arrive, she noticed bloody footprints around Doe and realized they were hers. She also called 911.
Doe was transported to Fort Belknap Indian Health Services where he was found unresponsive and breathing irregularly. Medical records indicated bruising and swelling on his ears and face, lacerations on his nose and upper lip, as well as human bite marks on his forehead, left wrist, and upper chest. After being intubated he was airlifted for advanced care.
Sears later told law enforcement that Doe had been drinking earlier with another friend and initially claimed she blacked out during the incident. Upon regaining consciousness she saw Doe injured with blood present but did not recall what happened to him until officers pressed further.
"When officers told her it seemed like she remembered more than she said she did Sears started to cry. She said she 'probably' hit him because she was drunk and has a temper," according to court documents. "Sears said she thought she might have hit Doe with the empty peppermint schnapps bottle." When asked if she hit him or used the bottle during the assault, Sears nodded in response each time.
On October 18, 2023, Doe was admitted to Long-Term Care Hospital in Billings where he was diagnosed with traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage and remained largely unresponsive due to brain injury until his death on December 11.
The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office following an investigation by the FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement Services.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative designed to reduce violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities nationwide. The Department of Justice launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy for PSN in May 2021 focusing on trust-building within communities; supporting organizations working toward violence prevention; setting strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring outcomes across participating jurisdictions (for more information see https://www.justice.gov/psn).
