Joshua D. LaForge, 34, a member of the Piegan and Big Lodge clans, was one of two men found shot to death inside a pickup truck that had crashed into a tree near Billings, Montana, on January 25, 2022. Dante J. Bezpaletz, 30, also died from gunshot wounds; a third man in the vehicle survived but suffered severe neck trauma and was taken to hospital.

Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office described the scene as the aftermath of a violent altercation among three men inside the truck, not a simple traffic accident. After the initial investigation began, no arrests or publicly identified suspects were announced in the days following the crash and the case remained under investigation.

Anyone who was in the area that day or who has information about what led to the fight and shootings is asked to come forward.