Details of Chadron Murder Released

Details of Chadron Murder Released
Sage Littlemoon (Courtesy Photo)
July 26th, 2021 | Ryan Murphy

An arrest affidavit for the 20-year-old Chadron man charged with the death of 72-year-old John Martinez recaps the events leading up to the murder.

Authorities say a 911 call came into the Chadron Dispatch Center at 1:56 a.m. Friday for a shooting in the 300 block of Maple Street. The suspect, Ian “Sage” Little Moon had also left the residence.

When officers arrived, they made contact with Little Moon’s 33-year-old sister Reva and her four children. The children immediately told officers that Sage had shot their father, John Martinez. Reva was in the downstairs bedroom sobbing hysterically and Martinez on the bed with a gunshot to his head.

Officers also found an AR style rifle lying on the floor next tot he bed with a loaded magazine loaded in it, and blood on the gun.

One of the children told police they witnessed Sage come downstairs and wake John up. John asked Sage what he was doing, and then Sage reportedly shot John in the head.

Through the investigation it was determined that Sage Little Moon was with a friend earlier in the evening, and the friend told officers that he believed Sage was drunk, and had been using cocaine and methamphetamine that night.

Little Moon reportedly stole a blue minivan to leave the crime scene, and the vehicle was located near Whiteclay. Around midday Friday, Sage Little Moon was apprehended on the Oglala Sioux Reservation and taken into custody.

Dawes County Attorney Vance Haug has filed charges of 1st Degree Murder and Use of a Deadly Weapon to Commit a Felony against Littlemoon. If he is convicted on the 1st Degree Murder charge, Little Moon could be facing the death penalty or life in prison.

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