Warm Springs woman Rhyan Leigh Smith, 26, admitted in federal court Wednesday, February 7, 2018, to opening fire on two relatives in a near-fatal rampage that left both victims clinging to life. Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to two counts of assault with intent to commit murder under 18 U.S.C. §§ 113(a) and 1153, and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).
The attack unfolded in the early morning hours of March 16, 2016, when Smith returned to a Warm Springs home where she had intermittently lived with five family members. Around 8:00 a.m., she retrieved a pistol she had taken without permission from the owner. Moments later, she approached a family member standing in the doorway of his bedroom, exchanged brief words, then opened fire—striking him five times. Blood spattered the walls as the wounded man collapsed.
Another family member, hearing the shots, rushed out to intervene. Smith didn’t hesitate—she turned the weapon on her and fired multiple rounds. The woman fell, critically injured, as Smith fled the scene. Both victims suffered life-threatening wounds but survived after emergency medical intervention.
Law enforcement descended on the property within minutes. FBI agents and Warm Springs Police Department officers tracked Smith to nearby sagebrush, where they found her hiding with an AR-15 assault rifle clutched in her hands. A search of a vehicle at the scene turned up a camouflage rifle bag loaded with extra AR-15 magazines, loose ammunition, and a second firearm—a 9mm pistol—further evidence of her armed intent.
Smith now faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years under federal law. Her sentencing is set for May 21, 2018, before United States Chief District Court Judge Michael W. Mosman. Prosecutors William Narus and Craig Gabriel, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon, handled the case, which was jointly investigated by the FBI and Warm Springs Police Department.
The case falls under the purview of federal-tribal law enforcement collaboration forged through the FBI’s Safe Trails Task Force (STTF) Program, initiated in 1994. The STTF unites federal, state, local, and tribal agencies to combat violent crime in Indian Country—a jurisdictional nexus where Smith’s crimes were prosecuted due to the reservation’s sovereign status and federal statutes governing major offenses.
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Key Facts
- State: Oregon
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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