Ackerman Trial Scheduled For December
Michael Ackerman, also known as Michael LittleBull, has been charged with three counts of second degree murder in U.S. District Court in Great Falls.
Ackerman has also been charged with use of a firearm during a crime of violence. The charges were filed on Oct. 2.
According to court records, Ackerman killed three individuals with malice aforethought on or about Sept. 11 at and near Poplar. The victims were two females and a male.
A jury date is scheduled for Dec. 9, in Great Falls. The deadline for discovery is Oct. 10.
Second-degree murder carries maximum penalties of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. On Sunday, Sept. 14, at approximately 4 a.m., the Fort Peck Tribal police officers received information from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office that a male had confessed to shooting and killing his wife, his stepson and the stepson’s girlfriend at a residence in Poplar. The male was identified as 73-yearold Michael Littlebull/Ackerman, an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Tribes.
Fort Peck Tribal police officers responded to a residence in Poplar to investigate the information. After receiving no response at the residence, tribal police officers received and executed a search warrant to enter the residence. Once inside the residence, tribal police officers located 65-year-old Earlene Jones, 41-year-old Matthew Black Thunder and 35-year-old Winona Longee deceased inside the residence. All three victims appeared to have been shot at least one time at close range with a small caliber bullet.
