17 year old admits to murder in shooting death on Crow Indian Reservation

BILLINGS - A 17-year-old accused of shooting and killing a man, whose body was recovered from the Little Big Horn River in Crow Agency, on the Crow Indian Reservation, admitted to murder and firearm charges today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

The defendant, Orrin Richard Alden III, of Crow Agency, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with second-degree murder and use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. Alden faces life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the murder charge and a mandatory 10 years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The Court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Dec. 12. Alden remained in custody pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that on May 5, 2024, an unidentified body was recovered from the Little Big Horn River in Crow Agency. The body was later determined to be an 18-year-old male identified as John Doe. An autopsy was conducted, and two bullets were recovered-one from the side of the torso, which pierced Doe's heart and lodged on the opposite side of his torso, and another bullet, which appeared to have entered his nostril, pierced his brain and lodged in his skull. The medical examiner found indications of the possibility that the barrel was placed into the nostril prior to firing.

Doe's family last saw him alive on either April 27 or 28 as he was walking with a group of males toward the location on the Little Big Horn River where his body was recovered. Two of the males were identified by a photograph, and Alden was one of them. On the day Doe disappeared, a witness saw Doe with a black backpack that contained marijuana, a sizeable amount of methamphetamine and a large amount of cash. At approximately noon on April 27, surveillance video the Little Big Horn College Wellness Center recorded Alden walking with Doe and the other males. Doe had a black backpack and was wearing some of the same clothing as when his body was recovered approximately one week later.

The government further alleged that the group of males, including Alden and Doe, drank alcohol and smoked marijuana before walking to the river. Alden and one of the other males were overheard discussing that Doe was carrying $500 to $700. Alden, one of the males, and Doe got separated from the rest of the group. When that happened, a single shot was heard. Immediately after the first shot was heard, Alden was seen with a rifle in his hand. As Doe tried to run away, he grabbed his side and said, "You shot me, you shot me, Tripp (a nickname for Alden)." A second shot was heard. Minutes later, Alden and the male who was with him caught up with the rest of the group. They were laughing, and the other male had Doe's backpack and the rifle. The barrel of the rifle was blown up on its tip.

The group then went to the basement of Alden's house where Alden and the male who was seen carrying the backpack and rifle stripped off their clothing and put it in a black bag. The male used his shirt and rubbing alcohol to clean a hatchet. Another of the males asked if he could call an ambulance for Doe. The male who was with Alden when Doe was shot responded, "Are you … Stupid … No, if you call the ambulance all you're going to find is just a non-living thing now." Alden and the male took the rifle and black bag of clothing and stashed them in an abandoned building near Alden's house.

When asked about the gun in the days following the shooting, Alden explained, "Bro it … blew up, when I … shot him in the neck … I had it so close that it just blew up … It blew the barrel up, like the tip of the barrel."

The U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted the investigation.

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