Sundance Ron Leon Hernandez, a 33-year-old Caucasian male, was fatally shot in the head on the afternoon of Tuesday, December 8, 2020. The incident occurred in the parking lot of the Creekside Apartments on East Broadway in Missoula, Montana. Known to his loved ones as "Sunny," he was born in Missoula and raised in St. Ignatius, where he attended Two Eagle River School.
His hobbies included drawing and tattooing.
Immediately following the shooting, Missoula police launched an investigation and identified 33-year-old Christopher Lance Newrider as the suspect. Authorities stated that Hernandez and Newrider were acquainted. A search for Newrider ensued, with police warning that he should be considered armed and dangerous. He was described as a white male, six feet tall, weighing 200 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes. At the time he fled the scene, he was reportedly wearing a black beanie, a black hoodie, and black shoes. Law enforcement, including a K-9 team from the Missoula County Sheriff's Office, canvassed the area, and a weapon was discovered near the river where Newrider was last seen.
The manhunt for Christopher Newrider concluded the following day, on Wednesday, December 9, 2020, when he was taken into custody at the Creekside Apartments. He was subsequently charged with deliberate homicide in connection with the death of Sundance Hernandez. The Missoula Police Department confirmed that they were not seeking any other suspects and that there was no further threat to the public.
In March 2022, Christopher Newrider's case came to a resolution in Missoula District Court. Instead of proceeding with a trial for deliberate homicide, Newrider entered a guilty plea to the amended charge of negligent homicide. This change came after new information emerged from an eyewitness during preparations for the trial, which prosecutors felt was more consistent with a negligent homicide defense. Following his guilty plea, Newrider remained in the Missoula County Jail with bail set at $1 million, awaiting sentencing.
