JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Three people pled guilty on Friday to their roles in a murder on the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Reservation.   

According to court documents, in September 2023, Michael Shaffer, Sr., 48, and Montero Willis, 22, used a firearm to shoot and kill a tribal member in the Pearl River Community of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians’ Reservation.

Prosecutors said Deyonkia Willis, 30, acted as an accessory after the fact to the murder. The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2023.

The defendants will be sentenced at a later date to be determined by the court. Michael Shaffer, Sr., and Montero Willis both face up to life in prison for murder in the second degree. Deyonkia Willis faces up to 15 years in prison.

The Choctaw Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods Tribal Initiative.