A man who was arrested after leading law enforcement officers on a high-speed chase across parts of Cascade County, admitted in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday, May 30, 2023, to trying to steal a vehicle from a man near Ulm and to brandishing a gun while carjacking a vehicle from a woman in Billings.
U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said in a news release that 27-year-old Santana Cruz Ledeau pleaded guilty to attempted carjacking and to using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
A plea agreement calls for Ledeau to plead guilty to two counts of assault on a peace officer in the Montana Eighth Judicial District Court, Cascade County, following the resolution of the federal case.
In addition, if the Court accepts the plea agreement at sentencing, the government will seek to dismiss additional charges of robbery affecting commerce, two counts of carjacking and one count of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence as charged in an indictment.
Prosecutors allege in court documents that in Billings on Sept. 30, 2022, a woman was delivering laboratory samples to a hospital clinic. As she arrived at the parking lot, a man dressed in a red hooded sweatshirt approached her as she attempted to leave her car.
The man, later identified as Ledeau, demanded her keys and pointed a gun in her face. As she dug inside her purse for the key fob, Ledeau produced a can of pepper spray and sprayed her in the face. Ledeau then took her car and drove away.
Hospital personnel who saw the incident from a distance treated the victim for her injuries.
During an interview with law enforcement, the victim described the gun as “red with some silver.” The victim’s car was later recovered in Musselshell County. Fingerprints in the car matched those of Ledeau.
The government also alleged that on October 17, 2022, Ledeau and a female companion were driving around Great Falls in a white truck that was later discovered to be stolen from North Dakota.
Ledeau got into a fight outside a motel and fired a pistol into the air. He then fled the scene and was involved in a hit-and-run car crash.
Great Falls Police were unable to stop Ledeau, who drove out of town heading south on Interstate 15 toward Ulm.
When he neared Ulm, Ledeau left the interstate, drove up behind a Buick sedan and got out of the stolen truck. Ledeau approached a man driving the Buick and demanded the car, but the man refused.
Ledeau then pulled out a pistol and fired a round into the rear driver’s-side window. The window shattered, and the bullet traveled through the rear driver’s seat and into the trunk, where it was recovered.
The driver of the Buick sped off, and Ledeau returned to the truck.
In addition, the government alleged that Ledeau returned to I-15 and traveled south to Cascade where he ran out of gas. Ledeau approached a second man, who agreed to give Ledeau and his female companion a ride to a gas station.
However, law enforcement officers arrived, and Ledeau yelled at the second man to get out of the car. Ledeau then got into the driver’s seat and led officers on a high-speed chase throughout the county.
Ledeau drove south on I-15, got off the interstate at Wolf Creek, and then drove north on Montana Highway 434. During the case, the female companion repeatedly called 911 because she was in fear for her well-being.
Eventually, Ledeau turned east on Montana Highway 200, lost control of the vehicle, and crashed into a ditch near Simms.
At the crash scene, officers saw Ledeau holding a pistol before tossing it to the ground. The gun had a red stock and dark-colored slide and was determined to be a SCCY Industries, model CPX-2, 9mm caliber pistol.
Ledeau faces up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the attempted carjacking charge and a mandatory minimum of seven years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the charge of brandishing a firearm.
Sentencing has been scheduled for October 26, 2023; Ledeau remains jailed.
