A man accused of shooting another over a song on the radio in a pickup truck changed his plea to guilty this week.
Ronald Blaise Jenkins, 25, pleaded guilty to using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence this week. He will be sentenced on Dec. 20.
Jenkins was initially charged in May in U.S. District Court with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
According to an affidavit filed by Bureau of Indian Affairs special agent Michael Shockley, his investigation into the shooting of a man identified only as “W.S.” revealed that the shooting occurred as the result of a disagreement over a song on the radio while he and Jenkins were in a truck.
W.S. had been riding in a pickup truck with three other men, including Jenkins, drinking alcohol and listening to music on the radio.
Two of the men in the truck said W.S. and Jenkins began arguing about a song on the radio and then prepared to fight over the issue.
At that point, Jenkins shot W.S. over the argument.
Jenkins told investigators W.S. had played a song on the radio he did not like and the two began arguing.
He said W.S. got out of the back seat of the pickup truck, opened the door to the seat where Jenkins was sitting and punched him in the face.
Jenkins said he had broken his neck several years earlier and the attack made him afraid for his life. He said he found a gun on the floor of the pickup truck and was pointing it at W.S. when “it just went off.”
W.S., meanwhile, told investigators he did not remember what the argument was about, but that both he and Jenkins got out of the truck and were preparing to fight when Jenkins pulled a pistol out.
The victim said he charged Jenkins in an attempt to take the pistol away from him, but was unsuccessful and Jenkins fired.
The affidavit said W.S. was helped into the emergency room at SageWest Hospital in Riverton by two men who left him there.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Wind River Police Department, with assistance from the Riverton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Kerry J. Jacobson prosecuted the case.
