Cannonball Man Sentenced for Second-Degree Murder and Assault

BISMARCK - United States Attorney Drew Wrigley announced that on October 4, 2006, Melvin Troy Two Shields, 35, of Cannonball, North Dakota, was sentenced before United States District Court Chief Judge Daniel L. Hovland on charges of second-degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Chief Judge Hovland sentenced Two Shields to serve 30 years in prison on the second-degree murder charge and 10 years in prison on the assault charge. The prison terms will run concurrently. Two Shields was further ordered to three years of supervised release, $23,888.10 in restitution, and $200 in special assessments to the Crime Victim’s Fund.

Two Shields was found guilty by a federal jury on July 13, 2006, of the beating death of 57- year-old Thomas Buffalo Boy. Buffalo Boy was assaulted in his home in Fort Yates, ND. He sustained severe trauma to his head and face during the assault. Buffalo Boy drove to his sister’s home in Fort Yates, where an ambulance was summoned and Buffalo Boy was transported to a Bismarck hospital. Buffalo Boy died approximately 12 hours later from complications resulting from injuries sustained in the assault. Bureau of Indian Affairs police responded to Buffalo Boy’s home and located Two Shields passed out on the floor of the home. The incident occurred on January 21, 2006, on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs - Standing Rock Agency, and North Dakota Forensic Medical Examiner’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorney Rick Volk prosecuted the case.