A Pine Ridge Reservation man has pled guilty to killing a woman while trying to do a drug deal on the reservation last November.
33-year-old Jerel Running Bear of Wounded Knee faces up to life in prison after his plea to charges of 2nd degree murder and discharge of a firearm during an act of violence in the death of Ashley Valentine.
Running Bear, who will remain in custody until sentencing, was also originally charged with knowingly possessing a firearm by a prohibited person, but that count was dropped as part of a plea deal.
According to court documents, Running Bear and Valentine traveled to Wounded Knee with Serena Fast Horse to try to buy fentanyl.
As Valentine messaged a supposed drug dealer on her phone, Running Bear retrieved a rifle from the trunk of his vehicle and fatally shot her. He’s never explained why he killed Valentine, saying only that he was high on meth and other drugs.
Fast Horse fled on foot and alerted law enforcement of the crime. Running Bear fled to Nebraska with his girlfriend and was apprehended after a pursuit.
Fast Horse was charged with being an accessory after the fact after Running Bear told investigators that Fast Horse helped him find a place to get rid of Valentine’s body.
Running Bear was scheduled for a change of plea hearing two weeks ago, but it was postponed after he gave unexpected answers to the judge’s questions.
When asked if he had any mental health issues, Running Bear claimed he had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in the jail a few days before the hearing – something his attorney said he knew nothing about.
. The judge then delayed the hearing so the attorney could investigate, but as he was being escorted out of the courtroom Running Bear suddenly said he lied and wasn’t schizophrenic – he just wanted to “get this over with,” adding “meth cooked my brain.”
His attorney later confirmed with a medical health professional that Running Bear had not been diagnosed with schizophrenia.