Rehn Peterson III, a 44-year-old White/Caucasian male, was shot and killed on November 21, 2023, in Red Lodge, Montana. The shooting happened at 820 Bonner Avenue North, where what began as a bitter text-message argument over a fantasy football league ended with Peterson dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Early reports identified him only as the man who died at the scene, while authorities said another person involved had been identified and was cooperating with law enforcement. The case was investigated by the Red Lodge Police Department, the Carbon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Montana Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.
The dispute that led to Peterson’s death centered on a fantasy football league that included both Peterson and Travis Morgan Sherrod.
According to testimony later presented at a coroner’s inquest, Sherrod had removed Peterson from the league for failing to pay dues, even though other members were allegedly also behind and remained in the league. The argument escalated through text messages, with insults traded back and forth. Peterson sent a threatening message after Sherrod questioned his work ethic, and Sherrod replied with messages including “Let’s go” and “Bring it.” Sherrod later said he believed Peterson might come to his house and that he was worried about his dogs, his truck, and his wife.
Instead of calling law enforcement before Peterson arrived, Sherrod retrieved a handgun from his bedroom and waited outside behind a car. When Peterson approached Sherrod’s property, Sherrod chambered a round and waited until Peterson stepped onto the property before making himself known and telling Peterson to leave. Sherrod later claimed he backed up toward the porch and fired only when Peterson lunged for the gun. Peterson was shot five times. Testing later indicated that at least one shot was fired from very close range, less than two feet away, and evidence showed shell casings near the porch and in the yard around a corner from the porch.
At about 9:18 p.m., Sherrod called 911 and reported that he had shot someone. A Red Lodge police officer arrived and found Sherrod with his hands over his head and Peterson’s body on the ground near a vehicle. Sherrod had placed the handgun on the vehicle. Although Sherrod requested an ambulance during the 911 call, testimony later indicated that he did not render aid, despite telling the responding officer he had been a medic. Sherrod’s then-wife, who was studying to become an EMT, began CPR after Sherrod was secured in the officer’s vehicle and continued until emergency medical personnel arrived. Peterson was pronounced dead at the scene.
The inquest testimony painted a fuller picture of Peterson and Sherrod’s relationship. They had known each other through a friend group and a fantasy football league, and their group’s interactions reportedly involved teasing, trash talk, and crude joking. The two men met in Texas while working in the food service industry and stayed connected as they moved around. Peterson eventually came to Red Lodge at Sherrod’s suggestion after Sherrod offered him a place to stay. Their friendship later became strained because Peterson’s stay reportedly caused tension in Sherrod’s marriage, but Peterson moved out and the two men remained in contact.
Peterson’s family and friends described him as a kind person who loved traveling, the outdoors, animals, and especially his dog, Tula. He had spoken with his mother only hours before his death while checking on his grandmother. Witnesses said he was not known as a violent person. On the day of the shooting, Peterson and a friend had been drinking heavily because a sewage problem at their home had made it difficult to sleep there. The friend said they had been in a good mood and that Peterson had not shown anger toward anyone before the friend fell asleep. The next thing the friend remembered was being awakened and told that Travis had shot and killed Rehn.
Forensic testing showed Peterson had a blood alcohol content of 0.313 and a THC level of 54 ng/mL at the time of his death. Sherrod was sober. During the inquest, Carbon County Attorney Alex Nixon told jurors that Sherrod admitted purposely shooting Peterson, but the central question was whether Sherrod’s use of deadly force was reasonable. Sherrod maintained that he acted in self-defense, while prosecutors presented evidence and testimony challenging that claim.
More than a year after the shooting, on December 5, 2024, felony deliberate homicide charges were filed against Travis Morgan Sherrod in Peterson’s death. Sherrod pleaded not guilty and asserted self-defense. The case moved through the court system for nearly a year, but on October 10, 2025, it was dismissed without prejudice. That meant the charges were dropped at that time but could be refiled later. The dismissal came after the prosecution and defense agreed to put the matter before a Carbon County coroner’s jury to determine whether citizens believed a crime had occurred.
The coroner’s inquest began on December 8, 2025, which would have been Peterson’s 47th birthday. After two days of testimony and less than two hours of deliberation, the nine-member jury unanimously found that Peterson died as the result of deliberate homicide at the hands of Travis Sherrod. The jury determined that Peterson died on November 21, 2023, at 820 Bonner Avenue North in Red Lodge, that his cause of death was gunshot wounds to the torso and right upper extremity, and that the manner of death was by criminal means.
After that finding, Sherrod was arraigned on December 10, 2025, on a felony deliberate homicide charge. He entered a not guilty plea and was released on his own recognizance. His release conditions included remaining in Texas unless traveling to Montana for court and filing a waiver of extradition. Because the coroner’s inquest was not a criminal trial, Sherrod remained presumed innocent, and prosecutors still had to prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt in district court.
If convicted of felony deliberate homicide, Sherrod faced a possible life sentence or a prison term of 10 to 100 years, along with a possible weapon enhancement carrying an additional consecutive sentence of two to 10 years. His criminal trial was scheduled for May 18, 2026. The case, as described in the available online reporting, shifted from a quiet Red Lodge shooting investigation to a public dispute over self-defense, intent, and accountability, with a coroner’s jury ultimately concluding that Peterson’s death was not justified but a deliberate homicide.
