U.S. Sheriffs arrested mid-Atlantic jockey Bryson L. Butterfly, 18, of Harpers Ferry, W.Va., on July 13 as a suspect in a murder First degree robbery and robbery in Maryland occurred in April.
Butterfly is one of three alleged suspects in connection with the Baltimore County case, according to a statement from the US Marshals Mountain State Fugitive Task Force. Two other accomplices were previously arrested and are currently being held at the Baltimore County Jail.
According to the Baltimore Sun, Butterfly is a suspect in the fatal shooting of Elias Cieslak, 17, on April 23 on Belair Street. According to the report, the grand jury indicted David Dionte Lofton, 32, on first-degree murder, armed robbery and firearm counts. A minor also faces similar charges, The Sun reported from Baltimore County Attorney Scott Shellenberger.
Butterfly is a Native American from Washington State whose family is from the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana, the Maryland Jockey Club reported as he earned his first East Coast win. as an apprentice in October 2021. He rode his first winner June 1 of that year at Grants Pass and also the road at Emerald Downs, Oregon Livestock and Crooked River in Oregon, and Arizona Downs.
To date, Butterfly has ridden 58 winners from 771 starts, and his mounts have raked in nearly $2.1 million.
According to the US Sheriff, Butterfly is currently being held at the Eastern Regional Prison awaiting extradition to Maryland.
