SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)), published as received.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging a Northeastern Utah man with first degree murder after he allegedly killed another man with a bow and arrow last month.

Leroy Casper Poowegup Reed, 42, of Whiterocks, Utah, was charged by complaint on June 27, 2025, and ordered detained by a U.S. Magistrate Judge.  

According to court documents, on June 26, 2025, officers from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from an individual who reported a possible vehicle accident in the Whiterocks community. It was reported that an individual was inside the vehicle unconscious and not breathing, with an arrow sticking out of him. Officers at the scene observed a black GMC pickup with the sole occupant/victim inside. The victim had an arrow pierced into his neck just above the collar bone. Officers concluded he was deceased.

As alleged in court documents, officers located a male individual on a porch of a residence, who was yelling at law enforcement. Officers also found blood on the road in front of the residence. The resident on the porch was identified as Reed and was taken into custody. Officers also located and seized a bow and arrows, and other items. Law enforcement obtained surveillance video of the incident, which showed a black GMC truck pull up and park. The victim exited the truck and walked towards Reed’s residence. Reed was then observed walking across the driveway with a bow and arrow drawn. The victim put his hands up and the video showed Reed move closer to the victim and then release an arrow, which hit the victim in the neck above the collar bone. The victim turned and walked back to his truck and Reed turned and walked towards his residence. The arrows seized from Reed’s residence match the arrow found in the victim.

Reed is charged with murder in the first degree while within Indian Country. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for July 17, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.

Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement.

The case is being investigated jointly by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Vernal Resident Agency.

Assistant United States Attorneys Sam Pead and Victoria K. McFarland of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.