East Glacier man admits to murder charge

An East Glacier man accused of killing another man on the Blackfeet Reservation in 2020 admitted to the murder charge Dec. 19 in U.S. District Court.

Dillon James Wippert, 27, pleaded guilty to second degree murder. Wippert faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release, according to a media release from U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided over the hearing. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for May 11, 2023. Wippert was detained pending further proceedings.

In court documents, the government alleged that on May 19, 2020, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services notified the FBI that there was a death of an individual, identified as John Doe, in a residence in Bearpaw.

John Doe lived in the residence at the time. On May 17, 2020, Wippert, John Doe, and three other individuals were at the residence celebrating Wippert’s birthday. At some point, John Doe and others became upset at Wippert and confronted him.

After the confrontation, most of the individuals thought Wippert had left the residence. While there are discrepancies in descriptions of events leading to John Doe’s death, at some point only John Doe and Wippert were at the residence.

John Doe was in his bedroom when Wippert shot him, documents state. An autopsy confirmed that Wippert first shot John Doe in the arm and then shot him in the back of the head. Family members found John Doe’s body on May 19, 2020 in his bedroom.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lori Harper Suek, Wendy A. Johnson and Kalah Paisley are prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services, with assistance from the Cut Bank Police Department, Glacier County Sheriff's Office, Mineral County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Marshals Service.