Billings, Montana – A 27-year-old woman from Billings, Montana, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for shooting and killing a man during a confrontation on a remote road within the Crow Indian Reservation.
Dameka American Horse received the sentence Wednesday after previously admitting responsibility for the fatal shooting of Cristan Reeves-Putman in November 2024.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Steger Smith announced that American Horse was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release following her prison term.
U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided over the sentencing proceedings.
American Horse pleaded guilty in January 2026 to second degree murder and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.
The case involved a series of events that began in Billings and ended with Reeves-Putman being shot multiple times along Pryor Gap Road near Pryor.
Confrontation on remote road ended in fatal shooting
According to federal court documents, American Horse spent the morning of November 22, 2024, driving around Billings while searching for a friend.
She eventually located the individual sitting inside a parked vehicle on the city’s South Side.
Later that day, American Horse and her friend met another man, subsequently identified as Cristan Reeves-Putman.
Reeves-Putman entered a red Ford Explorer and drove away. American Horse and her friend followed him in a separate vehicle.
After catching up with the Explorer, both individuals got out of their vehicle and confronted Reeves-Putman.
The encounter quickly developed into a heated argument.
Following the confrontation, American Horse’s friend entered the Ford Explorer with Reeves-Putman, and the two men drove away together.
American Horse continued following them in the other vehicle.
The group briefly stopped at Meadowlark Mobile Home Park, located south of Billings, before continuing toward the Crow Indian Reservation.
Eventually, both vehicles stopped along Pryor Gap Road near the community of Pryor.
According to prosecutors, American Horse left her vehicle and entered the backseat of the Ford Explorer.
She positioned herself directly behind Reeves-Putman, who was sitting in the front passenger seat.
While inside the vehicle, American Horse pulled out a handgun and shot Reeves-Putman.
The wounded man reacted by moving into the driver’s seat, where American Horse’s friend was sitting.
The two men then fell out of the Explorer as American Horse continued firing her weapon.
Federal court documents state that Reeves-Putman was struck by at least four additional bullets in his chest and arm.
During the shooting, American Horse also unintentionally struck her friend with gunfire.
Despite his injuries, Reeves-Putman managed to climb back into the driver’s seat of the Ford Explorer.
American Horse and her friend subsequently left the area in the other vehicle and returned toward Billings.
Victim discovered dead inside vehicle more than a week later
Authorities learned in late November 2024 that American Horse had allegedly shot a man inside a red Ford Explorer on the Crow Indian Reservation.
Approximately a week and a half after the November 22 shooting, investigators located the vehicle on farmland east of Pryor Gap Road.
Reeves-Putman was found dead inside the Explorer, sitting in the driver’s seat.
The discovery became a central part of the federal investigation into the fatal shooting.
The case eventually led to criminal charges against American Horse, who admitted guilt in January 2026.
Following her guilty plea to second degree murder and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime, the case proceeded to sentencing before Judge Watters.
The court imposed a 20-year federal prison sentence, followed by five years of supervised release.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office handled the prosecution, while the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted the investigation.
The sentence concludes the federal court proceedings described in the announcement, nearly two years after Reeves-Putman was fatally shot on the remote road near Pryor.
