John Jefferson
The property Burdick Nelson Seminole rented from Michael Standing Elk (Google Maps).
A Wyoming man was found guilty of murdering his wheelchair-bound landlord after he tried to evict him from his rental property.
Burdick Nelson Seminole was convicted on all counts by a jury on Friday after being indicted for the first-degree murder of Michael Standing Elk. He was also found guilty of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and causing death with a firearm during a crime of violence. The verdict came after a four-day trial.
The confrontation between tenant and landlord occurred on Aug. 8, 2023 after Standing Elk evicted Seminole from the property he was renting on the Wind River Indian Reservation because, according to court filings from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Seminole was “using drugs and bringing young females to the residence to get them high.”
Once Seminole was gone, Standing Elk started renting the property to other people, but Seminole returned to confront his former landlord for “talking smack.” According to witnesses who spoke to police, Seminole reportedly entered Standing Elk’s property, where he was in bed asleep, and started slapping him in the head, telling him to “talk s— now.” As the argument between the two men heated up, Standing Elk’s partner called 911. Standing Elk was able to get out of bed and into his wheelchair, and the verbal fight continued in the living room.
But Standing Elk had a gun of his own. In his interview with police, Seminole said that he taunted Standing Elk, saying, “You better make sure it’s loaded,” and “Better make sure you got f—–‘ ammo.” He then “pistol-whipped” Standing Elk, then “turned around and heard a boom, but he didn’t know what hit him,” according to the affidavit.
After Standing Elk failed to fire at Seminole because his gun jammed, he reportedly said, “Okay, I’m done. You win, Burdick.” That was when witnesses testified that Seminole shot Standing Elk. Another tenant rushed into the room and fired a shot at Seminole, hitting him. Seminole told police that his “memory blacked out” during this period.
In his statement to police, Seminole said he went back to the house to confront Standing Elk for “talking smack,” claiming that “Standing Elk was threatening his daughter,” according to Cowboy State Daily.
Seminole was arrested at Wind River Family and Community Health Care clinic, where he drove himself after being shot by one of the tenants in the house. The affidavit said that was where police recovered “a black Springfield XDS gun from the front passenger seat of Seminole’s vehicle.” An agent at the scene reportedly overheard Seminole say, “I shouldn’t have picked up that gun.”
Seminole will be sentenced on Feb. 6. He faces a life sentence.
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