Edward Leroy Widner III, Assault, Montana 2023

BILLINGS — A Forsyth man is headed to prison for 10 years after being convicted of assaulting two men with a gun and a woman with a metal bar in separate incidents in Lame Deer, Montana.

Edward Leroy Widner III, 29, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Susan P. Watters on May 11, 2023 for the assaults, which occurred in 2020 and 2022 on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

The defendant pleaded guilty to five charges in a superseding information charging him with two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.

The charges stem from two separate incidents. In March 2020, Widner allegedly assaulted a woman, identified as Jane Doe 1, at Lame Deer, causing her to seek medical attention for serious injuries. At the time, Doe 1 declined to name her assailant, citing increased danger if she were to speak to law enforcement.

However, in a recent interview with the FBI, Doe 1 identified Widner as her assailant. Widner allegedly used multiple objects, including a metal pipe, during the assault.

In a second incident, on May 22, 2022, Widner allegedly assaulted two men, identified as John Doe 1 and John Doe 2, at Lame Deer. Widner went to John Doe 1’s residence and first assaulted Doe 2 in the living room by hitting him in the head with a pistol. Widner dragged Doe 2 into a bedroom occupied by Doe 1 and told Doe 1 to get up or Doe 2 was going to die. Widner then hit Doe 1 repeatedly in the face. At some point, the gun discharged, and a round went through the bed, a wall and into the ground outside of the residence.

The government alleged that Doe 1 suffered serious injuries during the assault.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah A. Paisley prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Northern Cheyenne Investigative Services, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Widner was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release.

Mandatory Facts: Defendant: Edward Leroy Widner III; Charges: assault resulting in serious bodily injury (2 counts), assault with a dangerous weapon (3 counts); City and State: Forsyth, Montana; Exact Date: May 11, 2023; Sentence: 10 years in prison, 3 years supervised release.

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