Assault on two women on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation sends Fort Belknap man to prison for more than four years

GREAT FALLS — A Fort Belknap man who admitted to firing a pistol at two women in a housing area on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was sentenced today to four years and two months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

Gilbert Raymond Martinez, 33, of Fort Belknap and Parshall, North Dakota, pleaded guilty in May to assault with a dangerous weapon.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

In court documents, the government alleged that on May 17, 2021, Martinez fired a 9mm pistol at two women in the Newtown Housing area of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. The second woman told the responding officer that if she had not moved out of the way, the bullet would have hit her. After Martinez threw one woman to the ground, kicked her in the ribs and discharged a firearm at her, he discharged the firearm at a second woman, who was attempting to help the first assault victim.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI, Fort Belknap Police Department and Blaine County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

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