Poplar man admits stealing truck after stabbing driver on Fort Peck Indian Reservation

GREAT FALLS - A Poplar man accused of carjacking a truck and stabbing the driver on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation admitted to a robbery crime on Aug. 26, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.

The defendant, Brandon Lee Romero, 29, pleaded guilty to robbery. Romero faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

A plea agreement filed in the case calls for other counts of carjacking, transportation of a stolen vehicle and assault with a dangerous weapon to be dismissed at sentencing if the court accepts the agreement.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Jan. 5, 2025. Romero was detained pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that on April 14, 2023, the victim, identified as John Doe, was contacted by his sister who asked him to pick up Romero and give him a ride because she didn't want him at her residence. John Doe agreed and, using his father's truck, picked up Romero and began driving him to Poplar, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. When Romero got out of the truck, John Doe noticed that Romero had pulled out two knives. John Doe attempted to drive away, but Romero jumped into the truck bed, kicked out the back window, climbed into the truck and stabbed John Doe. The victim exited the truck, and Romero got into the driver's seat. Scared that Romero was going to run him over, John Doe hid behind a power pole. Romero was eventually arrested later that day by North Dakota law enforcement after Romero got into a high-speed chase in the truck he took from John Doe.

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. Fort Peck Law Enforcement Services, the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Office and the Williston (N.D.) Police Department conducted the investigation.

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