Riverton man sentenced to 16 years for murder on Wind River Reservation

CASPER, Wyo. — Lawrence Oldman died from stab wounds on the Wind River Indian Reservation in early January.

The grief continues, as expressed by Oldman’s family and his killer during a 90-minute sentencing hearing in the federal courthouse in Casper on Thursday.

“Pain and suffering are at the heart of this,” U.S. District Court Judge Kelly Rankin said before handing down a 16-year prison sentence to Ezekiel “Zeke” Frank James Ute for second-degree murder. Rankin also ordered Ute to serve five years of supervised probation after his release from prison, pay $30,695.37 in restitution, and pay a $100 special assessment.

The case started on Jan. 2 when a severely intoxicated Ute was recklessly driving his car, he said he wanted to crash it and the passengers urged him to stop.

Ute, 22, stopped the car on the 7700 block of Riverview Road, where a passenger got out and refused to get back in. Oldman, 20, also got out and began arguing with that passenger.

Ute then exited the car, repeatedly stabbed Oldman, got back in the car and drove away before returning to the scene and leaving two passengers.

The passengers tried to render aid and called 911 while Ute left, drove the car until it ran out of gas, and hid. Oldman was taken to the Banner Wyoming Medical Center, where he died the next day.

On March 12, the federal grand jury handed up the indictment of one count of second-degree murder, which in the federal court system is punishable by up to life in prison.

On July 15, Ute pleaded guilty.

A pre-sentence report recommended a sentencing range of 14–17.5 years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Gist argued for the maximum sentence, saying the minimum sentence does not fit the purpose of incarceration of “sufficient but not greater than necessary.”

Gist introduced five witnesses: Oldman’s mother, Riana Sitting Eagle; his sister, Leanna “Mousey” Oldman; his niece; and his cousin Susie Yellowbear, who submitted a letter read by Oldman’s grandmother, Mary Headley. All expressed the pain they have endured this year.

Riana Sitting Eagle said Larry was the only boy among her six children.

She told Ute that he will be gone a long time in prison, that she prays for him daily and that he won’t be able to be with his family. “I’ve tried to put it in my heart to forgive,” she said. “Do you have any remorse for stabbing my son seven to 10 times and leaving him out in the middle of nowhere?”

Leanna Oldman said, “I miss my baby brother every day.” Larry had a good soul, a kind heart and popularity, she said. “I’ll try to forgive you and it will be hard.”

Oldman’s niece said she misses her uncle. “I’m sad because you took him from me,” she said.

Headley said Yellowbear couldn’t attend the hearing and then read her letter, which was harsher than the rest of the testimony.

“Think about what you did; you get to wake up every day and breathe,” Yellowbear wrote. “I hate you. … You’re an ugly, evil person.” She also said she looks forward to seeing her cousin in the next life: “Long live Larry – 20.”

Headley, the grandmother, then put Ute’s actions in a historical context. In the 1980s and 1990s, the Yellowbears — her family — were fighting with another extended family of which Ute is a member, she said. In the mid-’90s, the families met and decided to no longer fight. However, Ute’s killing of Oldman may have changed that progress, Headley said: “This has opened up a whole new can of worms.”

She blamed alcohol, drugs and especially social media.

Even though she’s a grandmother, she said she’s not naïve: “I’m a Facebook warrior, too, and I see what’s on there.” She added that she liked Ute, noting that the people he lived with were friends. She said she wondered “what changed your mind to be a [citing a Native American term] ‘crazy person.'”

Two of her sons are incarcerated, so she knows what happens in prison about family disputes and revenge, she said. “There are many Oldmans and Yellowbears and I can’t stop what they’ll do to you,” Headley said, adding that Ute will never be the same after his time in prison. She also said Ute isn’t as tough as he thinks he is: “Don’t think you badass … because you’re going to do some time.”

After their testimonies, Gist outlined Ute’s path in his young life — a mostly positive one with one major fault. He finished high school and joined the Wyoming National Guard, but he was an alcoholic and wasn’t able to carry the lessons learned in the Guard to when he returned home in fall 2023, Gist said.

He was arrested for DUI and soon after that killed Oldman, he said.

While the argument could be made that Ute is young and had a tragic upbringing, Oldman was younger and just getting started in life, Gist said.

Ute’s defense attorney, Craig Silva, echoed some of Gist’s comments. He said that the murder of Oldman was not just a crime affecting him, but his family, Ute and the community as well. Besides his high school education and service in the National Guard, Ute also worked with the Head Start program for young children’s education and he had no violence in his upbringing. Based on all that, people never would have thought that he could have committed such a crime, Silva said.

Citing the testimony of Oldman’s family members, Silva said the power of forgiveness shows the possibility of redemption. Ute has also shown remorse, he said.

Ute said that much and more when he spoke to the court.

“I wish I could give that life back, but I can’t,” he said. “I’m really sorry for their loss.”

Ute acknowledged his alcohol abuse, the damage it has caused in this case and in his community and his intent to seek treatment. “I want to give my life in God’s hands and let him guide me on the way. I will, for sure, get the help I need,” he said.

That prompted Rankin to ask why all this happened.

Ute responded that he can’t remember what he did until when the passengers screamed at him when he drove away from where he left Oldman. “That’s what made me turn around,” he said.

In handing down the sentence, Rankin recounted the effects on Oldman’s family, their pain and suffering and the fact that they pray for Ute, who was on a right path until alcohol wrecked his and Oldman’s life.

Rankin said that during Ute’s time in prison, he needs to remember that, work on his recovery from addiction and show a change in his heart for his community after his release.

“You Mr. Ute, must lead that healing,” Rankin said. “Show us who you really are.”