SALT LAKE CITY — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a tribal fish and wildlife officer to three years in prison for shooting a now-married couple who were on their first date.
The defendant, Waneka Rosebud Cornpeach, also must serve three years of supervised release after she exits prison. She will receive credit for four months that she already served in jail, however.
Cornpeach shot Chad and Chelsea Young on July 17, 2022, as they rode an ATV near the boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in eastern Utah. Although the couple was not on the reservation itself, Cornpeach tried to pull them over and issue a citation, according to court records.
As the couple tried to drive away, Cornpeach shot them each in the back.
“I apologize to the families,” Cornpeach said to the judge on Monday during a short statement she made before hearing her sentence.
The sentence exceeded that requested by the prosecution.
Federal prosecutors asked for two years in prison after Cornpeach pleaded guilty in July to assault charges. Attorneys for the Youngs argued that it wasn’t enough — that each victim suffered serious injuries that could have killed them.
Judge Howard Nielson acknowledged that Cornpeach provided first aid after the shooting, but agreed a longer sentence was needed.
“The defendant’s use of deadly force here was patently unnecessary here under the circumstances,” Nielson said.
The shooting was just the beginning of the Youngs’ relationship.
“We kind of bonded forever after that,” Chad Young said outside the courthouse after the hearing. “She said she wanted to go on another date with me."
Chelsea Young said her future brother-in-law was texting him while she was in the hospital.
“I asked him how Chad was doing, and he said he was doing good,” she recalled Monday. “And I said, ‘Well, I hope he still wants a second date.’”
They married in 2024.
“We got married August 17th,” Chelsea Young said, “and we were shot on July 17th and then our court date was November 17th.”
The case isn’t completely closed.
The Youngs are still gathering medical bills to file with the court. Neilson said he intends to order Cornpeach to pay the family’s medical bills when the documentation is gathered.
That could add to hundreds of thousands of dollars. Chelsea Young’s attorney told the judge her client had to be flown to Denver for treatment after the shooting.
Also, the family has filed a civil lawsuit against Cornpeach and the Ute Indian Tribe. The suit is pending in federal court in Salt Lake City.
