March Trial Date Set for Crow Reservation Double Homicide

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge has set a March trial date for a 19-year-old Wyoming man charged with killing a couple on the Crow Indian Reservation in July 2015.

Jesus Deniz Mendoza's trial had been set for Jan. 9, but the defense asked for a delay because their expert witnesses could not be available then.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters held a scheduling conference on Thursday and scheduled the trial to start on March 27.

Mendoza, of Worland, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of Jason and Tana Shane and with attempted murder for wounds suffered by their daughter. The Shanes had stopped to help Mendoza on a road near Pryor.

Mendoza's attorneys have said they will rely on an insanity defense.