Judge Rejects Yellowbear Petition to Overturn Conviction

By AP

Casper, WY – A federal judge has rejected a petition by
Andrew Yellowbear Junior to overturn his first-degree murder conviction and life prison sentence.
Yellowbear contended that Wyoming had no authority to prosecute him in the death of his 22-month-old daughter in Riverton. Yellowbear argued his case should have been handled either by the tribal or federal courts.
Yellowbear is a member of the Northern Arapaho tribe.
But in rejecting Yellowbear's petition, U-S District Judge Clarence Brimmer says the Wyoming Supreme Court must rule on Yellowbear's jurisdiction arguments first.