RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) – A New Mexico man has pleaded guilty in federal court to the shooting death of a Pine Ridge man on the Pine Ridge Reservation in Kyle a little over 2 years ago.
21-year old Palani Bull Bear had been charged with 2nd-degree murder, but accepted a plea bargain that included pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and discharge of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence in the June 2018 death of 19-year Brycee Red Owl.
Bull Bear also pleaded guilty to bank robbery for the unrelated holdup of a Bank of America branch in New Mexico in May 2018. He faces up to 15 year for manslaughter, 10 years to life for the gun charge, and up to 20 years on the bank robbery count.
According to the factual basis statement signed by Bull Bear as part of the plea agreement, he got into a confrontation with Red Owl and a third man, Colin Gregg, while all 3 were on horseback near a convenience store in Kyle.
Bull Bear said he fired 2 shots at Red Owl and killed him, then fired 2 more rounds at Gregg but missed – hitting Gregg’s horse instead.
Bull Bear was found at the Sundance grounds in Kyle the next morning and taken into custody after a half-hour interview by FBI and BIA agents.