A federal grand jury has indicted the Ute Indian Tribe Fish and Wildlife Officer that allegedly shot two unarmed people in Uinta Canyon north of Neola last year. According to the indictment, 40-year-old Waneka Rosebud Cornpeach, of Fort Duchesne, fired her weapon at two victims on July 17th, 2022. The indictment charges Cornpeach with two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Cornpeach made her initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Daphne A. Oberg on November 30th. Following the incident, the Duchesne County Sheriff’s Office stated that two non-tribal individuals had been shot following a UTV incident on tribal lands. The FBI had reported that the adult male and female shot were flown to hospitals in Colorado while the Ute Wildlife Officer was not injured. The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office conducted the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office from the District of Colorado is handling the prosecution of the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.
