Drake Ingalls acknowledges firing the fatal shot but says he believed a woman was being restrained, an account she disputed to investigators.
NEWCASTLE, Wyo. — A fatal shooting that followed a first Tinder date is moving deeper into Wyoming’s court system with the accused man’s lawyer signaling that the defense will not center on who fired the shot, but on whether he believed deadly force was necessary to protect someone else.
Drake Alexander Ingalls of Belle Fourche is charged with second-degree murder in the Aug. 9 death of Jason Greene. After a preliminary hearing, Ingalls was bound over to Weston County District Court, where his attorney, David Holmes, said the defense intended to enter a not-guilty plea and was likely to raise a defense-of-another claim. Ingalls told investigators that he shot Greene after hearing a woman call for help and seeing what he believed was Greene physically restraining her. The woman later told investigators that Greene had not assaulted her and that no physical fight was taking place.
That disagreement is especially important because the broad outline of the shooting is not in dispute in the public court record. Ingalls acknowledged firing the gun. Officers recovered a 9 mm Glock Model 17 from his vehicle. Investigators found a spent casing outside the residence, and Greene was found dead inside with what appeared to be a single gunshot wound to the chest. Instead of an identification dispute, the case presents competing descriptions of the circumstances under which Ingalls deliberately fired, along with a defense contention that those circumstances matter to whether the killing was criminal.
Wyoming law defines second-degree murder as purposely and maliciously killing another person without premeditation. A conviction carries at least 20 years in prison and can result in a life term. The filing of that charge is an accusation, not a finding that the statutory elements have been proved. Ingalls is presumed innocent, and prosecutors would carry the burden at trial of proving the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense, meanwhile, has publicly indicated that the shooting will be evaluated in the context of Ingalls’ assertion that he was responding to an immediate threat against the woman.
The circumstances leading to that assertion began before Ingalls ever reached Greene’s home. Ingalls had traveled from Belle Fourche, South Dakota, to Newcastle to meet the woman after the two connected through Tinder. Court records give differing estimates of how long they had been communicating, but it was their first meeting in person. They spent hours together, drank alcohol and visited a local bar. During the night, the woman received an insulting text from Greene, whom she described in a local account of the court filing as a former casual partner.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the woman told Ingalls that Greene had abused or mistreated her in the past. She wanted to go to his home to speak with him and asked Ingalls for a ride. Crucially for the defense theory later described by Holmes, she also told Ingalls to come help her if he heard her yelling for assistance. Greene did not know they were coming, investigators said. Once the woman confronted him, the discussion became a loud verbal argument. Ingalls, who initially remained outside the immediate area, told agents he heard her call for help several times.
Ingalls said he responded by retrieving the Glock from his vehicle and chambering a hollow-point cartridge. He then approached the residence. In his interview with investigators, Ingalls described coming around a shed and seeing Greene behind the woman near the threshold. He said Greene’s arms were positioned beneath the woman’s arms and that Greene had a hand near the back of her head or hair. Ingalls interpreted the scene as Greene trying to pull her into the residence. He said he pointed the gun toward Greene, demanded that he release her and then fired when Greene did not do so.
The woman undercut that account in her own interview. She told investigators that Greene did not assault her and that they had not been in a physical altercation. She said she did not see the moment the shot was fired but maintained that the gun did not need to be used. Investigators noted an abrasion on her knee but reported no additional visible bruising, injuries or signs that her hair had been pulled. At the same time, she admitted she had consumed several drinks, was highly intoxicated and may have blacked out during parts of the night.
Those facts create multiple questions for the court without answering them at this stage. A future proceeding could examine what Ingalls actually saw, what he understood from the woman’s earlier request for help, how quickly the confrontation unfolded and how the accounts compare with the physical evidence. It could also test the reliability of both surviving witnesses. The public affidavit records their statements, but an affidavit prepared to establish probable cause is not a substitute for a trial, where testimony can be challenged and evidence can be tested under the rules of court.
The scene evidence offers a partial framework. Ingalls said he fired from roughly 10 to 12 feet away while the woman was between him and Greene and he could see Greene’s chest. Investigators found a casing outside near the side entrance. Greene was located inside, on the floor between the hallway and living room. After firing, court documents say, Ingalls and the woman got into his car, drove around the block and returned. She then called 911. When officers arrived at about 4:54 a.m., Ingalls told one of them that he had shot someone and directed police to the firearm in his vehicle.
Newcastle police requested that the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation take over the inquiry. Investigators conducted interviews and worked with physical and digital evidence, according to reporting on the agency’s investigation. Ingalls was arrested later that day. The initial court set a $250,000 cash-only bond, with stringent conditions if he were released, including GPS monitoring, no alcohol, no weapons, no contact with the woman and geographical limits on his travel without permission.
Holmes’ comments after the preliminary hearing marked an important shift from the initial arrest narrative to the defense strategy. The attorney said Ingalls and the woman had never met face to face before that weekend and that Ingalls had no prior dealings with Greene. Holmes also emphasized that a single shot was fired and described the case as one involving protection of another person rather than what he characterized as an intentional murder without justification. Those are defense assertions. The prosecution has not conceded the justification claim, and the court’s decision to bind Ingalls over means the criminal allegation remains active.
The woman’s statement is likely to remain a significant part of the prosecution evidence because she directly contradicted Ingalls’ description of Greene restraining her. Yet the same affidavit says she had previously told Ingalls of past mistreatment and had specifically instructed him to help if she yelled. The record therefore contains facts potentially important to both sides: circumstances the defense can cite to explain Ingalls’ claimed perception of danger and a witness statement prosecutors can use to challenge whether any physical danger actually existed when he fired.
Nothing in the preliminary proceedings resolves which account ultimately will be accepted or whether Ingalls’ claimed perception meets the requirements of Wyoming law. The preliminary hearing required a lower threshold than a criminal conviction, and the District Court phase allows the parties to litigate evidence and legal issues more fully. The latest reliable reports reviewed for this article show Ingalls bound over on the second-degree murder charge, with no final judgment established.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 22, 2026.