Good Samaritan family is gunned down on Montana Indian reservation

HELENA, Mont. [[AP) — Bullets whizzed past a woman’s head as she fled from an 18-year-old gunman who had posed as a stranded motorist to convince her family to help him on the roadside of a Montana Indian reservation, the woman recounted to relatives.

The man claimed he had run out of gas, then pulled a gun, demanded money and opened fire when Jorah Shane followed her mother’s order to run, Ada Shane said, relaying the story as told to her by her wounded niece.

The relatives listened to Jorah Shane’s story, made sure the television in her hospital room was kept off, and struggled with how to tell her that the man had killed her mother and father in Wednesday’s shooting, Ada Shane told The Associated Press Thursday.

Jorah Shane, 26, did not know her parents’ fate before she went into surgery Wednesday night for the bullet lodged in her spine.

“Last night before she went in, she told everyone to go look for her mom, she’s hiding in the field,” Ada Shane said.

Jorah Shane was recovering in a Billings hospital Thursday, while the suspect in the shooting, Jesus Deniz, also known as Jesus Deniz Mendoza, 18, waited in a Wyoming jail cell for extradition proceedings to begin.

Police arrested the Worland, Wyoming, man Wednesday morning near Meeteetse, about 120 miles away from Pryor, the small town on the Crow Indian Reservation where the shooting happened.

In an interview with two FBI agents on Wednesday, Deniz admitted to shooting three people with a .22 caliber rifle and then driving away in their car, a court statement filed by FBI Special Agent Larry McGrail II said.

“Deniz told the interviewing agents that he shot the victims because he was getting tired of waiting around, and because the daughter had laughed at him,” the statement said.

McGrail’s statement was filed in U.S. District Court with a criminal complaint seeking a murder warrant for Jesus Deniz. A judge’s signed warrant would begin the process of returning Deniz to Montana to face charges in the shooting.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby scheduled a Friday afternoon initial court hearing in Billings.

FBI spokesman Todd Palmer confirmed Jason Shane, 51, and Tana Shane, 47, were killed in the shooting, but would not identify Jorah Shane as the wounded person, saying the FBI does not provide information about potential witnesses.

McGrail’s statement largely confirmed the account of events that Ada Shane told the AP, though it did not name the victims.

On Wednesday morning, Tana Shane drove by a young man who said he had run out of gas on the road less than 50 yards from her home, Ada Shane said.

“Both my brother and sister-in-law have big hearts,” Ada Shane said. “They’re always helping someone else.”

Tana Shane went by her house, picked up her husband and daughter and drove back to the stranded car, Ada Shane said.

The man pulled a gun and pointed it at Jason Shane’s head. He ordered everybody to get out of the car, Ada Shane said.

He told the family to give him their money, but the family said they had only change because they recently returned from a religious revival in Window Rock, Arizona.

The man told them to start walking. Tana Shane told her daughter in their Native American language to run.

Jorah Shane told her aunt that she heard a shot, started running, then heard bullets pass close to her head. McGrail’s statement said the daughter heard her mother scream, felt blood running down her face and then a bullet hit her back.

She yelled and caught the attention of people near St. Charles Mission School, according to the FBI statement. A car approached her and she jumped in when the driver got out. She drove away still hearing gunshots, and relatives took her to a hospital, the statement said.
A bullet grazed Jorah Shane’s head and she had a gunshot wound to the back. Ada Shane said she didn’t know how to tell her niece that her close-knit family was gone.

“Jorah is one always attached to her parents,” the aunt said. “She’s always with her parents and her grandmother.”

It is not clear whether Deniz has an attorney. Messages left on two phone numbers listed under Mendoza’s name were not returned.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement told KULR-TV Deniz is a Mexican citizen who was legally admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident.

“This individual does not have any criminal convictions, and, as a permanent resident, is not currently removable,” ICE told the news station in a statement. “Thus, an ICE detainer cannot be placed on the individual at this time. However, ICE is closely monitoring this case and coordinating with local authorities. If he is convicted for a criminal offense that allows him to be removed from the country, after the completion of sentence, ICE intends to take him into custody and pursue his removal from the United States.”
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This story has been updated to correct the news station from KURL-TV to KULR-TV and to include more information.

Funeral held for Pryor shooting victims

By - Associated Press - Wednesday, August 5, 2015
PRYOR, Mont. [[AP) - More than 700 people gathered for the funeral of a Pryor couple shot to death last week after stopping to help what they believed was a stranded motorist.

The Billings Gazette reports [[http://bit.ly/1W1ysHx ) the funeral for 50-year-old Jason Shane Jr. and 47-year-old Tana Shane was held Tuesday at the Plenty Coups High School gym.

Family member Bryce Hugs said every seat in the gym was taken and late arrivers had to stand for the nearly three-hour service.

The Shanes had been married for 29 years and had five daughters and two sons. Their 24-year-old daughter, Jorah Shane, was injured in the July 29 shooting.

The preliminary hearing for suspected shooter - 18-year-old Jesus Yezion Deniz Mendoza of Worland, Wyoming - is set for Friday morning in federal court in Billings.

Information from: The Billings Gazette, http://www.billingsgazette.com

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Tana Shane

August 03, 2015 6:30 am

PRYOR — An angel on Earth was tragically taken from us on Wednesday, July 29, 2015. Tana and her beloved husband of 29 years, Jason Shane Jr., were killed being good Samaritans in Pryor.

Tana Lynn was born in Crow Agency on July 9, 1968, to Joanne Rock Above and was adopted by Posey Whiteman Jr. and the late Carol Bends Whiteman. She was raised and lived her entire life in Pryor. She was a proud member of the Crow Tribe and of the Whistling Water Clan and a child of the Greasy Mouth clan.

Tana attended Pryor Elementary, Newman and Highland schools in Billings and Plenty Coups High School.

On July 12, 1986, she married her soul mate and the love of her life, Jason, and they made their home in Pryor. From this union, they were blessed with two sons, Reiny [[Bona Rae) and their two boys, Icen and Raycen, and Dione [[Lacey). Her five daughters, Jorah Belle, Mercedee Neil, Jaelynn, Sarcie Geri and Miracle Love, also survive her. Children whom she raised as her own are Timothy [[Anna), Trampus [[Benecia), Clay, Destiny and grandsons Tristan, Weston and Houston Birdinground.

She adored her new granddaughter, Kyreana River Rose, who was born only two days before her death.
Tana loved to travel with her family and made sure everyone fit in the car, no matter how small. There was never a dull moment on these family outings. She loved to decorate for birthday parties and celebrate special occasions. As everyone knows, Tana’s legacy is her outstanding beadwork skills, whether it was for family or friends. She was a renowned Crow artist with her beadwork designs. Tana was a devout Christian and is now home with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Her favorite pastimes were attending her children’s school activities, and most recently, she was a proud fan attending her nephew “Baby Lonnie” Plain Bull’s basketball games. She also loved to play handgames for the Arrow Creek District.

Tana had a radiant smile and a compassionate heart. She loved life and lived it to the fullest. She loved her large extended family gatherings and participating in the sweat lodge. Tana had the unique ability to tell a good story that captivated your attention. She had many close friends, but her sister Elizabeth was her best friend.

She is preceded in death by her sisters Deliah “Gidget” Rock Above, Adeline Rock Above, Burnett Costa, Jennifer Rock Above, Janice Little Light, Sonja and Susie Round Face; grandparents Julia and Harry Rock Above, Josephine Whiteman and Clara Bends; brothers Lonnie Plain Bull, Arnie Stewart, Grady “Little Boy” Hunts Arrow and Ray Scott Stands; uncles Lee, Benny, Gordon Plain Bull, Joseph and Alfred Rock Above and Sherman and Jerome Lion Shows; aunts Doris Rock Above, Adeline Plain Feather, Belva Costa and Phyllis Plain Bull.

Tana leaves behind her beloved mother, Joanne Rock Above; her aunt Alice [[Grady) Hunts Arrow and her uncle Russell [[Benita) Plain Feather; her sisters Maureen Rock Above, Elizabeth [[Tronnes) Birdinground, Ollie Costa, Seja Plain Bull and Lilly Jefferson, Janet Sees the Ground, Julie Hugs, Renee Yellowtail, Rosalie Turnsplenty, Wendy Hunts Arrow, Donya and Christy Costa, Lottie Medicine Horse, Cecelia Gail Rock Above, Shannon Rock Above, Juliet Fiscus, Norma Falls Down, Rebecca Falls Down and Sandra Rock Above; her brothers Mike Stewart, Joseph Rock Above III, Dewayne Costa, Turk Plain Bull, Harry, Lance, Delon and Benny Lee Rock Above; adopted sisters Cornelia Plain Bull, Jana Three Irons, Quindy, Claura and Keri Whiteman; adopted brothers Dominic Costa, Chan [[Gerlinda) and Posey Whiteman III, Robert Nomee, Floyd and Arna Morrison; adopted aunts Ada and Budine Bends; and adopted uncles Arnie, Leonard and Byron Bends.

Extended family includes Rock Above, Lion Shows, Medicine Crow, Holds the Enemy, Goes Ahead, Plain Bull, Howe, Boggess, Davis, Mullenberg, Schenderline, Comes Up, Rides Horse, Takes Horse, Stands and DeHoyas.

Vigil services will be at Bullis Funeral Home on Monday, Aug. 3, at 4 p.m. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Plenty Coups High School. Burial will follow in Pryor Cemetery. Bullis Mortuary has been entrusted with the arrangements.

The family would like to extend their appreciation for the outpouring of support from everyone during this difficult time.

Read more: http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyle...#ixzz3i2ghVTLL