Judge Jason Conder rejected a binding plea deal for Sterling Louis Black Jr. in the Riverton shooting.

A rejected binding deal is not a sentence and not an acquittal. Cowboy State Daily reported Conder wrote that the court was unwilling to impose the agreed outcome, and that Black may withdraw the guilty pleas he entered under that agreement. Law&Crime reported the judge rejected the deal because it locked in the sentence. The second-degree murder count is still a charge unless a later plea is accepted or a jury returns a verdict.

Cowboy State Daily reported Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, that District Court Judge Jason Conder rejected a binding plea agreement for Sterling Louis Black Jr. at a sentencing hearing Thursday in Lander. The Thursday before that Monday was Oct. 22, 2026. Law&Crime, in a story published Tuesday, Oct. 27, also reported the rejection was Thursday and called him Fremont County District Judge Jason Conder. Cowboy State Daily reported the agreement was binding, so the judge had to accept the negotiated sentence or reject the deal. Law&Crime reported he rejected it mainly because it gave him no leeway and locked in the sentence. Cowboy State Daily reported that under the deal Black had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment rather than go to trial on second-degree murder, and that the agreed sentence was 18 to 20 years on the manslaughter count and another year in jail for child endangerment, served consecutively. Law&Crime reported the agreement would have had him plead guilty to manslaughter and child endangerment and receive a sentence of 18 to 20 years. Law&Crime did not print the extra consecutive year. Cowboy State Daily reported a written order issued Friday said the court was "unwilling to accept and impose the agreed upon outcome required by the binding plea agreement." The Friday after that Thursday was Oct. 23.

Cowboy State Daily reported the order permits prosecutors to proceed on the original second-degree murder charge and permits Black to withdraw the guilty pleas he entered under the rejected agreement. Law&Crime reported the judge permitted him to withdraw his guilty plea, in the singular. Cowboy State Daily reported both sides have until Oct. 30 to file status reports, motions, or other pleadings on a trial or on withdrawal of the pleas, and that each side then has 10 days to respond. Law&Crime reported status reports are due by Oct. 30. Both reported that unless a different resolution is reached, the second-degree murder trial is scheduled for Jan. 25, 2027. Cowboy State Daily reported it asked defense attorney Zachary Mahlum for comment Monday and did not receive a response before publication. Cowboy State Daily reported Black is 25. Law&Crime also reported he is 25. Cowboy State Daily reported Bell's father, Byron Bell, called the agreement the "deal of the century" and said, "I wanted the judge to understand that my daughter's life wasn't worth any number, especially 18-20 years," and, "I believe the more years her killer spends behind bars the better." Law&Crime reported the same two sentences and the "deal of the century" line, and printed the years as 18 to 20. A father's statement to a reporter is not a sentence.

Cowboy State Daily reported Black was charged with second-degree murder in the March 7, 2026, death of Angelina Rose Bell, 24, and that he initially pleaded not guilty. Law&Crime spelled her Angelina Bell and also reported she was 24. Cowboy State Daily reported police were called just before 7 a.m. to the Ol' Wyoming Motel in Riverton. Law&Crime reported the motel is in the 400 block of North Federal Boulevard. Both reported a 5-year-old daughter was in the room and found her mother. She is not named in either story. Cowboy State Daily reported Black notified the court on Aug. 11 that he and the state were negotiating, and that a written plea agreement followed the next day. The guilty pleas under that agreement are what the Friday order lets him withdraw. They are not a judgment, because the judge rejected the deal. The second-degree murder count is the charge that remains if the case goes to the January trial. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.