A 28-year old Billings man who admitted chasing down, shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend on Blue Creek Road in October was found dead Monday in his Wyoming jail cell.
Big Horn County, Wyoming, Sheriff Kenneth Blackburn told Q2 News Tuesday that Taylor Lee Plain Bull was found unresponsive in his cell last night.
Blackburn said both jail and medical personnel tried unsuccessfully to revive him.
The sheriff said that although no foul play is suspected, authorities immediately contacted the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, which will now conduct an independent investigation into Plain Bull’s death.
The sheriff’s office is fully cooperating, as is the Big Horn County, Wyoming, coroner, according to Blackburn.
Plain Bull was awaiting sentencing for his role in the death of Lenita Goes Ahead of Pryor. He pleaded guilty in March to second-degree murder and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. (Update 5:10 p.m. Acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson issued a statement saying he plans to ask to drop charges against Plain Bull in light of his death.)
Under the plea agreement, the charge of second-degree murder carries a penalty of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
The other charge, use of a firearm during a crime of violence, carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum of life. The charge also has a $250,000 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.
Prosecutors said that Plain Bull ran Goes Ahead off the road when he saw her driving with their daughter and her new boyfriend.
Prosecutors said that Goes Ahead locked the doors of the vehicle when Plain Bull approached, and he fired two shots into the vehicle, killing her.
In his plea,Plain Bull claimed the shooting was accidental, and the gun discharged when he went to hit Goes Ahead's boyfriend in the temple with the butt of the gun.
Plain Bull was arrested three days after the shooting following a standoff with police at the Rodeway Inn in Billings.
He was scheduled to be sentenced July 23 at U.S. District Court in Billings.
