Two bodies were found in a blood-soaked home on the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation after a shotgun blast tore through the quiet early morning of January 31, 2018. Stoney Prior, 40, a member of the Fort McDermitt Shoshone Paiute Tribe, now stands charged in federal court with the first-degree murders of two tribal members found dead inside the residence.
According to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Prior allegedly opened fire with a shotgun, striking the first victim in the head and neck. The second victim was hit multiple times—in the arm, body, and head—in what investigators describe as a violent, close-range attack. Both victims, whose names have not yet been released, were members of the same tribe as Prior and lived within the reservation’s jurisdiction.
The killings occurred in the remote Nevada outpost of Fort McDermitt, a high-desert community straddling the Nevada-Oregon border, where federal authorities maintain jurisdiction over major crimes committed in Indian Country. The charges against Prior were announced by U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson of the District of Nevada, who emphasized the gravity of the offense.
Prior is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in Indian Country, a federal offense that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison if he is convicted. A preliminary hearing is set for February 22, 2018, before U.S. District Magistrate Judge William G. Cobb, where prosecutors will present evidence to establish probable cause.
The FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs are leading the investigation, with critical support from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office. The case underscores the complex jurisdictional landscape of crimes committed on tribal lands, where federal agencies often step in to prosecute violent offenses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Shannon M. Bryant is prosecuting the case. As the legal process moves forward, the tight-knit Fort McDermitt community is left reeling—another violent chapter etched into the soil of a reservation long burdened by poverty, isolation, and crime.
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Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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