Santana Ledeau, Armed Carjackings, Montana 2023

GREAT FALLS, MT – A brazen spree of violence ended with a guilty plea today as Santana Cruz Ledeau, 27, of Wolf Point, admitted to terrorizing victims in Yellowstone and Cascade Counties. Ledeau confessed to attempting to steal a vehicle near Ulm and brandishing a firearm while carjacking a woman in Billings. The incidents, separated by less than a month, culminated in a high-speed chase that stretched across Cascade County before his capture.

The Billings carjacking, on September 30, 2022, saw Ledeau approach a woman delivering lab samples to a hospital clinic. According to court documents, he demanded her keys while brandishing what the victim described as a “red with some silver” handgun. When she fumbled for the key fob, Ledeau deployed pepper spray, then stole her Nissan. Hospital staff rendered aid to the victim, and the vehicle was later recovered in Musselshell County with Ledeau’s fingerprints inside.

Less than three weeks later, on October 17, 2022, Ledeau’s recklessness escalated. Driving a stolen white truck with a female companion near Great Falls, he allegedly fired a pistol into the air during a dispute outside a motel before fleeing and causing a hit-and-run accident. A pursuit ensued, leading him south on I-15 toward Ulm. There, he attempted to carjack a man in a Buick, firing a round through the rear window when the man refused to comply. The bullet traveled through the seat and lodged in the trunk. The driver escaped, and Ledeau returned to the stolen truck.

The flight continued until Ledeau ran out of gas near Cascade. He convinced a good Samaritan to give him and his companion a ride to a gas station, then immediately ordered the man out of the vehicle. Law enforcement arrived on the scene, ending the chaotic chase. Ledeau now faces a significant prison sentence. He pleaded guilty to attempted carjacking and using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Ledeau is looking at a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release for the attempted carjacking. More damning, the charge of brandishing a firearm carries a mandatory minimum of seven years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, along with another $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris will determine the final sentence on October 26, considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

As part of a plea agreement, Ledeau will also plead guilty to two counts of assault on a peace officer in Cascade County’s Eighth Judicial District Court. In exchange, prosecutors will dismiss additional charges including robbery affecting commerce, two counts of carjacking, and another firearms charge. Ledeau remains detained pending sentencing, a grim reminder that violent crime has consequences, even on the open roads of Montana. U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich prosecuted the case.

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