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FORT DUCHESNE, Uintah County — A Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife officer accused of shooting two unarmed recreationists last year is facing federal charges.
Waneka Rosebud Cornpeach was indicted Nov. 29 in federal court by a grand jury on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon while within Indian Country, and two counts of assault resulting in serious injury while within Indian Country. The indictment was filed in Utah by the U.S. Attorney for Colorado.
On July 17, 2022, a man and woman were shot by a Ute Tribe Fish and Wildlife officer near Jenkins Park in Uinta Canyon. The couple was taken to hospitals in Colorado for treatment. The tribal officer was not injured.
Although very limited information about the shooting was initially released by the FBI, a Duchesne County sheriff's deputy was called to assist on the day of the shooting, and through a public records request, KSL.com obtained a copy of that deputy's body camera video in addition to the report he filed.
According to the deputy's report, he was called to assist a fish and game officer on a report of shots fired. As the deputy was responding with his emergency lights and siren, "central dispatch advised that the officer was shot along with two suspects and (the situation was) possibly ongoing," the report states.
When the deputy arrived, however, he found the tribal officer was not injured and the incident was over. He found a man lying on his stomach on the ground while a bystander applied pressure with a gauze pad to a wound on his back. The woman was sitting up while the tribal officer kneeled next to her and applied pressure with a gauze pad to a wound just below her right shoulder. Other bystanders were holding umbrellas in an effort to keep the sun off the victims.
"I asked the fish and game officer if the weapons had been secured and the scene was safe," according to the report.
But the deputy soon discovered that the man and woman who were shot never had any weapons. A bullet hole was found in the passenger door of the side-by-side the couple was riding when they were shot.
A jury trial is set for Feb. 6 if a plea agreement is not reached before then.
