(Lander, WY) – Brandon Monroe, the lone trigger man in the January 4th, 2019 murders of Jocelyn Watt and Rudy Perez, was sentenced to two life sentences, one for each first degree murder charge, at his September 14 sentencing hearing.
The life sentences will be served concurrently, and Monroe was also ordered to pay $7,794 and $7,000 in restitution to the Victims Compensation Fund for Watt and Perez respectively.
The hearing was overseen by the Honorable Judge Jason Conder, with the state represented by Patrick LeBrun, and the Defense by Curtis Cheney and Sierra Soule
Monroe was initially charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of murder in the first degree, all felonies with a maximum life prison sentence.
Monroe went on to plead “guilty” to the two murder in the first degree charges at a June 22 change of plea hearing, as per the stipulations in the change of plea docket and amended information filed on on the same date.
The courtroom was an emotional scene before Judge Conder officially accepted the guilty pleas and handed out the sentence, with two of Jocelyn’s sisters and and her mother each given the chance to speak during the State’s address.
Sister Trinity Wagon was the first to address the Court, stating that although she has mostly come to terms with the death of her sister, “the sad feelings come in waves.”
“I have to live my life without her, and that’s painful,” Trinity continued. “It doesn’t feel right that you are alive and she is not,” she went on to say to Monroe.
Youngest sister Tiana Wagon echoed Trinity’s sentiments, commenting, “Even though it’s been some time, that pain of getting that call… I don’t wish it on anyone.”
“Nothing will ever make this right,” Tiana continued. “My sister didn’t deserve to leave this world the way she did. The pain is in the back of my mind every single day.”
Following the sisters’ comments, Jocelyn’s mother Nicole Wagon spoke to the Court.
“I come here today, with my heart broken,” Wagon said. “January 4, 2019 is the day my daughter was murdered. Our lives have changed forever.”
“There will never be closure for myself, or my daughters,” Wagon continued before sharing a letter written by her sister stating that their families are “left only with memories.”
“You took what the Creator made, my eldest daughter, and you destroyed that. You ended her journey,” Wagon commented directly to Monroe. “You had no right to take my daughter’s life. Anger is not enough to express what I feel when I see you.”
“I will never understand why you did what you did,” Wagon went on to say, but before she could finish a woman in attendance shouted “for weed and money.”
(Monroe’s testimony stated that the whole reason he went to the Watt/Perez residence was to steal “weed and money.”)
“Excuse me?” Wagon replied to the woman before she was asked to leave by Judge Conder, which led to an eventual sidebar conversation with the attorneys.
After the sidebar and a moment for Wagon to collect herself, she continued.
“People say that today we get closure. Justice for Jocelyn and Rudy; but we do not,” Wagon said through tears before reading Jocelyn’s obituary.
Before concluding, Wagon explained that the murder of Jocelyn and Rudy, combined with the death of her other daughter Jade, has inspired her to become a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person (MMIP) advocate, the only good to come of the incident.
“I will keep moving forward as an MMIP advocate,” Wagon explained, “to create nationwide attention” to the MMIP cause.
“I want my baby back. I want my daughter back,” Wagon went on to conclude, her voice registering just above a whisper. “But it chose me for some reason, to make good out of this.”
Wagon then went on to thank the community for the support, the investigators, and State Prosecutor Patrick LeBrun, who began his closing remarks by stating that Rudy Perez did everything he could to fight off Monroe before he took his life, ultimately succumbing to the the gunshot wounds while attempting to get his shotgun from the closet.
LeBrun added that Jocelyn was then killed “execution style,” due only to the fact that “she was a witness.”
Following the State’s remarks, Monroe’s Defense was also given the chance to speak.
“Certainly this case is a tragedy,” Curtis Cheney began before lamenting the young age of Monroe at the time of the murders (Monroe was 16, which is why the death penalty was not an option in this case).
Cheney added that Monroe has matured over the last couple years he has known him, has come to take full responsibility for his actions, and plans to seek out furthering his education and substance counseling while incarcerated.
Monroe himself was also given the chance to speak in allocution of his sentencing, but chose not to, leaving Judge Conder to read his official statement from the investigation.
“On the night of the crime, I was pretty intoxicated,” Monroe’s statement began. “I want to say sorry to the Watt and Perez family. It wasn’t supposed to go down how it did, but it did, and I accept the consequences.”
Judge Conder then addressed the Court.
“I recognize it (the sentence) isn’t perfect, but it’s an adequate resolution,” Judge Conder stated before crediting Monroe for at least owning up to his actions, which enabled his case and the cases of the other party’s responsible to move forward. “I wish there was something I could say to make it better.”
Full coverage of Monroe’s case can be found here.