GREAT FALLS - Doratello “DJ” Juan Fischer of Wolf Point, 37, who admitted to fatally shooting a man on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, was sentenced in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday, June 21, 2022, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a news release.
Court documents state that on Nov. 27, 2020, Fischer shot the victim (identified only as "John Doe" in court documents) in the back with a .22-caliber rifle, killing him. Fischer had been driving around Wolf Point drinking alcohol with his girlfriend and another person that evening.
While driving down an alley, Fischer told his girlfriend to stop the car and he then got out. The victim was standing outside of a residence near the alley.
Fischer shot the victim in the back with a .22-caliber rifle, back, got back into the vehicle with his girlfriend, and drove away. The rifle was never found.
The victim was taken to Trinity Hospital in Wolf Point where he was pronounced dead. The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the back.
The shooting occurred following a November 24, 2020 incident at a Wolf Point bar where law enforcement officers responded to the victim brandishing a firearm and pointing it at Fischer.
The day before Fischer shot the victim, Fischer used social media to communicate with another individual about the victim pointing the gun at him. Fischer said that he was planning on “coming to town to go hunting.”
In April 2021, Fischer pleaded not guilty, but he pleaded guilty in November 2021 to second-degree murder.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentenced Fischer to 16 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori Harper Suek and Jared Cobell prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation, and Wolf Point Police Department.
