Micah Taryn Faith LaForge, False Statements, Montana 2023

BILLINGS – A Crow Agency woman accused of making false statements to federal law enforcement admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Micah Taryn Faith LaForge, 24, pleaded guilty to false statement.

LaForge faces 5 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

LaForge was released pending further proceedings.

According to court documents, a gunshot victim arrived at the emergency room at the IHS Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital in Crow Agency on January 18, 2023. He was pronounced dead upon arrival.

The victim was transported to IHS in a vehicle driven by LaForge. LaForge lied to medical personnel and a BIA Special Agent at the hospital and then later that same day to an FBI Special Agent and a different BIA Special agent.

LaForge claimed she was driving between Crow Agency and Dunmore when she saw the gunshot victim lying in the road. She told all of these individuals she stopped and loaded him into the passenger side of her vehicle and drove directly to IHS.

However, LaForge continued with the lie by traveling to the purported location where she claimed that she saw the gunshot victim lying in the road with a BIA Special Agent. The agent noted there was no evidence, such as blood, shell casings, or a sign of a struggle, that would support LaForge’s claim that this was the location where she encountered the gunshot victim.

The gunshot victim was actually shot at a house on Crow River Road. The day after the initial statement, LaForge contacted law enforcement and admitted she had lied the day before.

Her lie about finding the gunshot victim in the middle of the road stymied the investigation for over 15 hours as the investigators had only the false information she provided about the location, which kept them from going to the residence where the victim was shot and collecting evidence.

The firearm was never recovered.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The FBI and BIA conducted the investigation.

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