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WORLAND — The suspect in the July double-murder near Pryor, Mont., has been charged in connection with a 2013 shooting in Ten Sleep Canyon.

Jesus Yeizon Deniz was formerly charged with attempted second degree murder in Washakie County Circuit Court in Worland late Friday afternoon. Deniz is currently in the custody of the United States Marshal Service.

Charging documents allege that during the early morning hours of Sept. 16, 2013, emergency room staff at Washakie Medical Center in Worland notified law enforcement that a gunshot victim had visited the ER.

When authorities arrived, they discovered Jose Luis Mosquera Araujo and Ana Deaconu. Araujo and Deaconu were visiting from Ecuador and were camping in Ten Sleep Canyon.

Both Araujo and Deaconu told authorities that at about 2 a.m. that morning, they were in their tent and heard something fall on their tent. They opened the tent, looked outside and saw a small tree branch. Deaconu told law enforcement that a short time later, they heard another tree branch.

Upon exiting the tent, they heard the sound of a gunshot and Araujo felt like he had been hit with something. Both parties said that they thought they saw headlights but initially thought it was reflections from their headlamps.

Araujo and Deaconu then left the canyon to visit the ER. Araujo survived the shooting after suffering a chest wound. After conducting an investigation, the case went cold for two years.

A cold case warms

At approximately 10 a.m. July 29 of this year, Crow Indian Reservation Dispatch received a report of a shooting in Pryor, Mont. Deniz was subsequently arrested near Meeteetse after allegedly shooting and killing Jason and Tana Shane along with wounding their daughter Jorah.

After being apprehended, federal court documents allege, Deniz (who was parked on the side of the road after running out of gas) admitted to agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation that he killed Jason and Tana Shane after they stopped to help him. Deniz’ alleged motive was that they were taking too long and that their daughter laughed at him.

According to the Washakie County affidavit of probable cause, while being interviewed by the FBI, Deniz admitted to the 2013 Ten Sleep Canyon shooting.

On Aug. 6, 2015, FBI Agent Paul Swenson interviewed Deniz regarding the Montana shooting. During the interview, Swenson asked Deniz if he had done anything similar before.

“Jesus immediately responded with, ‘I don’t want to say,’” the affidavit alleges.

When asked what happened, Deniz allegedly told Swenson and another investigating agent of a shooting he committed near Ten Sleep.

“I was driving and saw a car, tried to get them out of the tent and I shot him,” Deniz said, adding that he used the same .22 rifle to commit the 2013 shooting that he allegedly used in the Montana shooting.

Deniz continued, “I shot him. I heard him cry out in pain. Then, when I was driving back to Worland, I saw them pass me. He was holding his hand there. I was like ‘OK.’ Back then, I was fiending (craving drugs) bad. I needed money and that was the only quick way I could get money.”

Deniz told authorities that he did not take any money during the incident and immediately regretted shooting Araujo.

Deniz said he needed money for drugs.

The affidavit concludes, “[B]y Jesus’ own admission, he was the person who shot Jose Araujo the morning of Sept. 16, 201,3 due to the fact that Jesus knew specific details of the case such as where the shooting happened, luring Jose and Ana out of the tent, shooting Jose and leaving in a panic, and knowing the vehicle which was driven by Ana and Jose on the way to the hospital. These specific details were never released to the media or the public.”

In the coming days, Deniz will be formerly served with the Washakie County charges, but he may never see the inside of a Washakie County Courtroom.

That’s because if Deniz is convicted for the murder charges, the mandatory minimum sentence is life imprisonment and federal jurisdiction takes precedent over state jurisdiction, according to Washakie County John Worrall. If he is found innocent, Deniz will then face charges in Washakie County for the shooting. The maximum penalty for attempted second degree murder is 20 years imprisonment, a fine of $10,000 or both.

Deniz is also facing the death penalty for the Montana murder charges.

A trial date for the federal murder charges has not been set.