Browning woman sentenced to one year in prison for assault on Blackfeet Indian Reservation

GREAT FALLS - A Browning woman who assaulted an individual on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was sentenced yesterday to 13 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Kodie Rae Ground, 30, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The government alleged in court documents that on May 29, 2024, John Doe was sitting in his parked car in Browning, Montana. Kodie Ground knocked on the window and asked for a ride. Although Doe declined to give her a ride, she opened the door, got in the car, and told him to take her somewhere. Ground refused to get out of the car, so Doe said he would take her to the police station. En route, Doe continued to ask Ground to get out of the car, and she continued to refuse. Doe tried to get her out while stopped at a traffic light, and she became angry. Ground beat John Doe on the head while holding an unknown object. She took the keys out of the ignition and exited the car. When Doe got out of the car, Ground threw his keys at him and walked away.

Doe went to Blackfeet Hospital because he could not move the left side of his body. A CT scan revealed he had a subdural hematoma (a brain bleed), so he was flown to Benefis Hospital in Great Falls, where he underwent a craniotomy.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the BIA and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services.

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