Originally charged in U.S. District Court with second-degree murder, 28-year-old Trent Sowsonicut, of Fort Duchesne, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on Monday afternoon in federal court in Salt Lake City as part of a plea agreement. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, Sowsonicut admitted that on August 13th, 2016, he entered the Gusher residence of 28-year-old Leroy Eagle Murray with a loaded shotgun and shot Murray during a quarrel. First responders were called and Murray was taken to the hospital but he died as a result of the gunshot. During the investigation, FBI agents and Uintah County Search and Rescue officers found the loaded shotgun in the river beneath the Randlett Bridge. Sowsonicut was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2017 on the murder charge and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. “He entered his guilty plea to a Felony Information filed Friday charging him with voluntary manslaughter,” shares the U.S. Attorney announcement. “The plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of 78 months in federal prison, to be followed by 36 months of supervised release. The sentence is subject to the approval of the court. U.S. District Judge David Sam set sentencing in the case for March 15th, 2018, at 2:30pm.” The FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Ute Tribal Police were involved in the investigation of the case while Stephen Nelson and Michael Thorpe of the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. Both Sowsonicut and Murray were both enrolled members of the Ute Tribe.
