New information released about man who shot, killed Vernal man with bow and arrow

WHITEROCKS, Utah (ABC4) — New information has been released in an indictment of the man accused of killing a Vernal man with a bow and arrow last month.

Leroy Casper Poowegup Reed, 42, an enrolled member of the Ute Tribe living in Whiterocks, has been charged with murder in the second degree while in Indian country.

According to documents, on June 26, 2025, around 10:35 a.m., the Central Dispatch center in Uintah received a call reporting a possible vehicle wreck in the Whiterocks community, located on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation. The caller reported that the vehicle was running and a man was inside with an arrow “sticking out of him.”

Law enforcement from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the scene and found a black GMC pickup in a field about 10 feet away from the road. The individual in the driver’s seat was “slumped over” and had an arrow “impaled in his neck just above the collarbone.”

The driver’s window was broken by law enforcement to check on the individual, and they found that he was deceased. They observed blood on the driver’s side door and running boards — often used to step up into that style of truck.

A little under an hour later, around 11:30 a.m., the Uintah County Sheriff’s Office was contacted about a male individual on a porch who could have been involved in the murder. When law enforcement arrived, they observed blood on the road in front of the residence. The male, later identified as Reed, was seated on the porch and began yelling at law enforcement.

Reed refused to approach law enforcement and was then detained. According to documents, he repeatedly told them something like “he came and told me he killed my son” regarding the victim, and said that the victim had “approached him like a serial killer in army clothes.”

After being placed into a Uintah County Sheriff’s Office vehicle, Reed allegedly asked, “Is he dead?”

Law enforcement conducted a sweep of the residence to check for any other suspects and located a bow and arrow in the doorway. An arrow was nocked in the bow, ready to fire.

During an interview with law enforcement, Reed explained that “a white guy” approached his residence and was standing in the driveway. He said that he grabbed his bow and arrow and then the victim began speaking to him, saying that he “had killed his (Reed’s) son.” Reed described him as wearing a green army outfit that made him look like a serial killer.

According to Reed, the victim was standing on his property when he was shot, and then walked back to his truck across the street and left after being struck by the arrow. Investigators confirmed that Reed’s son was safe and had been with another family member during the shooting.

Surveillance cameras on the Whiterocks Community Center captured the incident and showed a black GMC truck pull off and park across the street from Reed’s residence. Documents say that the victim could be seen crossing the street and stopping on the road just before the driveway.

Within less than three minutes, Reed comes into view on the surveillance footage and walks across the driveway, stopping at the end with a bow and arrow drawn. According to the indictment, the victim put his hands up, and Reed released an arrow, striking the victim in the neck. Reed then returned to the residence while the victim went to his truck.

Reed was arrested and taken to the BIA Uintah and Ouray Correctional Facility.