Helena man gets 100-year sentences for 2022 shooting attack

Jory Songer’s punishment will keep him behind bars for decades after a Helena judge handed him 100-year sentences on two attempted deliberate homicide convictions tied to the 2022 Stewart Homes shooting, one of the harshest outcomes a local defendant can receive.

Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan also imposed 20-year terms on two felony assault with a weapon convictions, then ordered all four sentences to run at the same time. Even with that concurrency, the result leaves Songer facing a sentence that underscores how seriously the court treated the shooting and its lasting toll on the victims and their families.

The case began around 1 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2022, when Helena police responded to the 800 block of North Cooke Street in the Stewart Homes complex after reports of multiple gunshots. Investigators said two men were talking outside a residence with two minors when a masked man approached and opened fire. One man was hit in the thigh and the other in the forearm.

Police later said surveillance video showed a Hyundai Sonata circling the complex minutes before the shooting, and investigators believed it matched a car reported stolen days earlier. A woman connected to that vehicle told investigators she drove to the Stewart Homes area and dropped Songer off. Songer was initially given a $1 million bond when he first appeared in court in September 2022.

At sentencing, the harm to both victims was central. One man said his injury left him unable to use his hand and forced him out of construction work. The other described lingering pain and psychological trauma that followed him long after the gunfire stopped. Songer addressed the court as well, saying he regretted his actions and the ripple effect on the victims, their families and his own family.

Lewis and Clark County Attorney Kevin Downs asked for the maximum punishment, citing Songer’s criminal history and limited remorse. Menahan said the 100-year term reflected both the seriousness of the crimes and the major impact they had on everyone involved.

The sentence also closes another chapter in a case that has already moved through the Montana Supreme Court. Songer was convicted by a jury in February 2025, but the high court later reversed the attempted deliberate homicide and assault convictions after ruling a key witness had been allowed to testify by video deposition without a proper showing of unavailability. After the retrial, the sentence again placed Songer at the center of one of Helena’s most closely watched violent-crime cases, one that also pushed police to expand use of exterior security camera maps to help track suspect vehicles in future investigations.