In the early morning hours of March 28, 2024, a burst of violence shattered the quiet of Box Elder, Montana, leaving two men dead. One of the victims was Thomas Roderick Yallup, a 42-year-old Native American male and a resident of the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation. The fatal encounter unfolded around 1:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the D&L Bar, where Yallup and another man, 41-year-old Darin Bernard Caplette, were shot at the gas pumps.
Though both men were quickly transported from the scene in private vehicles and intercepted by emergency medical services, their injuries proved too severe. Yallup and Caplette were both pronounced dead at the hospital. The Hill County Sheriff's Office, assisted by multiple other law enforcement agencies including the Cascade County Sheriff's Detectives and Tribal Police, immediately launched an intensive investigation into the double homicide.
The investigation led to the swift identification and arrest of several suspects.
Three individuals from Corning, California, were charged in connection with the killings. Angel Isaiah Castillo Haffley, 18, was arrested for deliberate homicide, while Angelo Hawk Sanchez, also 18, faced a charge of deliberate homicide by accountability. A 16-year-old male was also arrested and charged with deliberate homicide.
Further investigation revealed more alleged participants. Another individual, Melody Bernard, was later charged with two counts of felony deliberate homicide by accountability. According to court documents, Bernard was the registered owner of the vehicle used by the suspects on the night of the shooting. Surveillance footage from the bar showed two suspects exiting her vehicle before firing multiple shots at Yallup and Caplette. Bernard has since pleaded not guilty to the charges against her.
