Wind River Indian Reservation Residents Sentenced for Kidnappings

Four residents of the Wind River Indian Reservation were sentenced Thursday for their roles in kidnapping crimes in early January, according to federal court records.

Ashley Rose Yellowbear, Samuel Harold Friday, Kristen Jade Antelope and Rusty Tso Tabaho, Sr., heard their sentences in separate hearings before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl.

They pleaded guilty in August. All defendants are in their mid-20s except Friday, who is in his mid-30s.

Yellowbear and Friday also each were charged with assault with a dangerous weapon with the intent to do bodily harm, but those counts were dismissed at the sentencings as part of their changes-of-plea.

The have been in custody since their initial appearances in March.

Yellowbear was sentenced to 11 years three months imprisonment, and will serve a five-year term of supervised probation with special conditions after her release from custody.

Friday was sentenced to 13 years four months imprisonment, and will serve a five-year term of supervised probation with special conditions after his release from custody.

Tabaho Sr. was sentenced to nine years six months imprisonment, and will serve a five-year term of supervised probation with special conditions after his release from custody.

Antelope was sentenced to 10 years four months imprisonment, and will serve a five-year term of supervised probation with special conditions after her release from custody.

Skavdahl also ordered them to pay $100 special assessments and pay jointly and severally $4,408.69 restitution.

According to the indictment handed up by the grand jury on March 18, they kidnapped a woman and a man on Jan. 1 for the purpose of assault and intimidating them to prevent reporting these acts.

Yellowbear, Friday, Antelope and Tabaho knowingly aided and abetted each other in the crime. The indictment also said Yellowbear and Friday each assaulted one of the victims with a tire iron.

U.S. Attorney Mark Klaassen said in a prepared statement in March that violent crime is a top priority for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Indian Country and across Wyoming. "These efforts require partnerships at every level to effectively investigate and prosecute these crimes.”

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Wind River Police Department.