Prominent Chippewa Cree tribal member allegedly connected to double homicide faces drug charges (2024)

Two women who are suspected of being connected to a double homicide in Box Elder have been arrested on drug charges.

The women are not facing any formal charges in connection to the double homicide.

Melody Bernard, 51, and Ashley Cortez, 23, were indicted in federal court on May 22. Both women are facing drug charges, including possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and conspiracy with intent to distribute both drugs. The Havre Weekly Chronicle first reported the story.

Charges against Bernard came as a surprise to some, given her prominent role in the close-knit tribal community. Located in north-central Montana, the Rocky Boy Reservation is home to 3,613 people.

Bernard, who is Chippewa Cree, recently founded a restaurant on the reservationcalled Ziahs. In 2020, she organized a Black Lives Matter protest in Havre that received national attention. Her LinkedIn profile states she was at one point an Indian Child Welfare Act case manager.

Bernard, whose married name was Whitford, also formerly served as a tribal judge and police officer. As a judge, she saw cases in tribal drug court and participated in the Chippewa Cree Tribal Adult Healing to Wellness Court Program. In 2014, she ruled that a recent Chippewa Cree Business Committee election had been invalid and ordered another election to be held.

Double homicide in Box Elder

Citing several witness accounts, court documents allege Bernard sold narcotics out of her restaurant, the business next door, which she also owns, and out of her house in Box Elder.

Documents say Bernard would distribute anywhere from 500 to 1,000 fentanyl pills at a time, typically selling one pill for $40.

Documents allege that Bernard worked with a Mexican man named Martin Topete. Also called “Junior” or “Bad Boy,” Topete is incarcerated at Centinela State Prison in California for a drug-related premeditated murder of a rival gang member in 2015. Topete was allegedly able to communicate and give orders about criminal activity from prison.

Ashley Cortez, the other woman facing charges, allegedly manages Bernard’s dealing, serving as a go-between for Bernard and Topete. Several witnesses told law enforcement that Cortez also sold drugs on the reservation.

Cortez reportedly told law enforcement that since November 2023, she made about four trips from California to Bernard in Montana. She estimated she had transported 23 pounds of methamphetamine, 4,500 fentanyl pills, five ounces of fentanyl powder and three ounces of cocaine. She also said she transported $230,000 for Bernard.

On March 28 around 1:30 a.m., according to court documents, Hill County Sheriff's deputies responded to a shooting at the D and L Bar in Box Elder. Tribal members Thomas Roderick “T.R.” Yallup, 42, and Darrin Caplette, 41, were shot and killed.

Video surveillance revealed two shooters were driven by a third male in a vehicle. Court documents show the vehicle they used belongs to Bernard.

Bernard was allegedly present at the shooting and was speaking on the phone before, during and after the incident. Court documents allege Bernard was on the phone for 31 minutes with a California-based cell number.

After the shooting, she transported Caplette, one of the victims, in her vehicle until she was intercepted by an ambulance. That vehicle was later found at Bernard’s ex-husband’s house. He stated that Bernard told him the car was used in a shooting and should be destroyed, documents allege.

On March 27, the day before the double homicide, camera footage showed three men enter and exit Bernard’s home. The three individuals, according to court documents, matched the description of the shooters and were wearing the same clothes as the shooters. They also drove the vehicle that was later recovered at Bernard’s ex-husband’s house.

Law enforcement interviewed Bernard after the shooting, where she allegedly identified the three individuals in the suspect vehicle as Angel Castillo, 18, Miguel Ibanez, 16, and Angelo Sanchez, 18.

Law enforcement found Cortez, Sanchez, Ibanez and Castillo in a room at the Super 8 Motel in Havre shortly after the shooting. Officers found two handguns, multiple cellphones and suspected narcotics in the room, according to court documents.

Castillo and Sanchez, who are both 18, are now in custody at the Choteau County Jail, though officers discovered that they have since called a male believed to be Topete, documents allege. Ibanez, 16, is in custody at the juvenile detention center in Great Falls.

Law enforcement believes, according to documents, that Topete may have ordered that Caplette and/or Yallup be killed. Topete’s case notes that he founded a gang called the Wicked Pot Smokers, and Castillo, Ibanez and Sanchez, according to court documents, all had “WPS” tattoos. Bernard also told law enforcement that Topete, Cortez and Castillo have ties to a Mexican cartel.

Law enforcement in March also received information that additional men from out of state were on the reservation to “clean house,” which officers interpreted as a threat to life.

Law enforcement determined that before the shooting, a Chippewa Cree tribal member picked up Cortez, Castillo, Ibanez and Sanchez in California and drove them to Montana. Bernard allegedly told law enforcement she thought the group was looking for Caplette’s brother. She said Topete “had words” with Caplette over the phone two nights before he was killed.

On May 21, when officers executed a search warrant at Bernard’s home on First Street NW in Box Elder, Cortez hid in a bathroom.

Officers discovered Cortez attempting to destroy evidence by running bathtub water over about 64 fentanyl pills and 98 grams of cocaine. Officers also found $8,800 in cash and a firearm at Bernard’s residence.

Bernard and Cortez have not pleaded to the drug charges yet.

If convicted, they face a possible maximum sentence of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five or more years of supervised release.