A Montana man was charged with attempted murder and attempted rape Thursday following a violent assault on two teenagers in a rural area bordering the Crow Indian Reservation.
Carl Chester Alden, 32, pleaded not guilty during an arraignment in Billings before state District Court Judge Rod Souza, who set bond at $1.5 million.
Alden is accused of shooting the teens, ages 14 and 18, in the head and trying to rape the younger victim.
He faces additional felony charges of assault with a weapon and aggravated assault, plus a misdemeanor charge for contempt of court, court records show.
Alden allegedly had been using meth as he drove around with the victims and two others south of Billings on Monday, The Billings Gazette reported.
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When the 14-year-old started arguing with Alden, he shot her and the older teenager as he crashed the vehicle into a ditch, according to charging documents. He later charged at deputies who responded to the scene, and they used stun guns to subdue him, the documents say.
In 2014, Alden was sentenced to five years of probation after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter in a crash that killed a 23-year-old man on the Crow Reservation.
Prosecutors had sought a prison sentence of more than four years in that case. Alden admitted he had been drinking alcohol and said he did not remember the crash or driving.
