TRIBAL JUSTICE NEWS
WEEK OF OCTOBER 20, 2010

Contact: Jessica Smith, Office of Public Affairs: (202) 514-2007

Nine Drug Traffickers Charged with Federal Drug Trafficking Offenses (U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico)
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales announced on Oct. 18, 2010, that nine McKinley County residents were arrested on federal drug trafficking charges as a result of a five-month Drug Enforcement Administration-Bureau of Indian Affairs investigation code-named “Operation Yé’iitsoh.” The investigation leading to the arrests began in May 2010 at the request of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety (NNDPS) and for the purpose of combating the growing drug trafficking problem in and around the Navajo Reservation. The Operation was brought as part of the Native American Project (NAP) Initiative, which is supported by the DEA’s Albuquerque District Office in partnership with the BIA and the NNDPS. 

www.justice.gov/usao/nm/pr/index.html

North Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Oct. 18, 2010, Clint Beston, 20, of Dunseith, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Between March 14 and 15, 2009, Beston and co-defendant Great Walker attacked and assaulted a man who was walking in the St. Mary’s housing area near Dunseith. Following the assault, the victim was taken to the hospital where he underwent surgery for a fractured leg.

www.justice.gov/usao/nd/pressreleases/index.html

Nebraska Man Sentenced for Embezzlement from a Tribal Organization (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska)
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg and the United States Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General announced that on Oct. 18, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp sentenced Duane Whipple to five years of probation for his conviction of embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization.  Whipple was also ordered to pay restitution to the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska in the amount of $21, 515.84.  Whipple had been an employee in the finance office of the Santee Sioux tribe.  From October of 2005 through February 2007, he made numerous unauthorized payroll advances to himself in excess of $7,000.  In addition, he either wrote or caused to be issued over $9,000 in checks made out to him. 

www.justice.gov/usao/ne/press/

North Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to White Shield Apartment Burglary (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Oct. 18, 2010, Robert J. Painte, 21, of Bismarck, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to a charge of burglary.   On July 26, 2009, Painte and co-defendant Derrick LaCroix were at an apartment complex in White Shield, N.D.  Painte entered an apartment through the front door and handed one or more firearms out a window to LaCroix. When a car drove up to the apartment building, Painte and LaCroix took off running, dropping the firearms in a field near the apartment complex.

www.justice.gov/usao/nd/pressreleases/index.html

Nebraska Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement from a Tribal Organization (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska)
U.S. Attorney Deborah Gilg and the Department of the Interior, Office of Inspector General announced that on Oct. 13, 2010, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Joseph F. Bataillon sentenced Karen Red Owl to five years of probation for her conviction of embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization.   Red Owl was further ordered to pay restitution to the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska in the amount of $9,174.  Red Owl was an employee of the Santee Sioux Tribal Court whose duties included making deposits of funds received by the court.  For the period of March 1, 2006 through February 28, 2007, 195 receipts totaling $14,171 were reviewed, but it was discovered that only $9,455 was deposited.

www.justice.gov/usao/ne/press/

South Dakota Woman Charged with Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, S.D., woman charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury was sentenced on Oct. 13, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Regina Burnette, 49, was sentenced to 37 months in prison, two years of supervised release, $2,650 in restitution and a $100 assessment.  Burnette was indicted by a federal grand jury on Feb. 18, 2010.  The charge relates to Burnette assaulting her husband with wooden logs at their residence in January 2010.  She pleaded guilty to count II of the indictment in July 2010.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Aiding and Abetting (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, S.D., man charged with aiding and abetting an assault resulting in serious bodily injury was sentenced on Oct. 13, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Ica-Hiya Ducheneaux, aka Ica-Hiye Ducheneaux, 19, was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day in custody, 3 years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund.  Ducheneaux was initially indicted for aiding and abetting first degree burglary and assault resulting in serious bodily injury by a federal grand jury on May 25, 2010. The charges relate to events that took place in August 2009 when Ducheneaux and his co-defendant, Canton Luke Egna, entered into a residence in Green Grass, S.D., at night, with the intent to commit an assault on a male occupant of the house.  Egna pleaded guilty in federal district court to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and was sentenced on Oct. 12, 2010.  Ducheneaux pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting an assault resulting in serious bodily injury on July 14, 2010.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Woman Charged for Making False Statement (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Mission, S.D., woman charged with false statement was sentenced Oct. 13, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Shirley Eagle Feather, 59, was sentenced to five years of probation, $6668.04 restitution to the Social Security Administration and a $100 assessment.  Eagle Feather was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 9, 2010, and pleaded guilty to count II of the indictment in July 2010.  The charge relates to Eagle Feather making materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations in a Social Security Representative Payee Accounting Report when answering the question of whether all of the children named in the form resided with her from July of 2008 to June of 2009.  Eagle Feather received Supplemental Social Security Income benefits as representative payee for her daughter.  Eagle Feather failed to use the money received for her daughter’s care, despite reporting that she did so.           

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

George Victor Morris Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on Oct. 13, 2010, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, George Victor Morris, a 59-year-old resident of Lockwood, Mont., was sentenced to 88 months in prison and a $100 special Assessment.  Morris was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine as part of a tribal drug operation, “Junkyard Dog.”  Since 2005, law enforcement has been conducting an ongoing investigation into a drug trafficking organization operating in the Billings area, as well as the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations.  The organization distributed methamphetamine.  The primary target of the investigation was Morris.

www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Harvest Dawn White Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on Oct. 13, 2010, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Harvest Dawn White, a 36-year-old resident of Lodge Grass, Mont., was sentenced to a 21 months in prison, $100 special assessment $30,652.63 restitution and three years supervised release.  White was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to negligent vehicular assault.  In an offer of proof, the government stated it would have proved at trial that on Nov. 26, 2009, law enforcement received a report of a drunk driver coming from Wyoming onto the Crow Reservation.  Soon after receiving the report, an officer observed a car matching the description.  The officer tried to follow the car but it fled and crashed near Lodge Grass.  The officer observed White crawl out of the driver’s side door of the car.  There were two passengers in the car, one seriously hurt.  It was later determined that the female passenger had suffered a dislocated hip.  White’s BAC was .297 when taken at the hospital in Crow Agency.

www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Cornelius Little Nest Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on Oct. 13, 2010, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Cornelius Little Nest, a 51-year-old resident of Hardin, Mont., pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.   In an offer of proof, the government stated it would have proved at trial that on April 16, 2010, a high speed pursuit by the Montana Highway Patrol started off of the Crow Indian Reservation in Hardin.  When the patrol officer tried to stop the car, the driver fled Hardin driving in excess of 90 mph.  The car was stopped between Crow Agency and Dunmore.  The driver was identified as Little Nest.  A second, unidentified adult male fled.  Also in the car was the victim.  The officers found the victim to be seriously injured requiring emergency medical treatment.  The investigation revealed that the victim had been beaten by Little Nest over a three-day period of time. 

www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Minnesota Man Sentenced for Assaulting Police Officer (U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota)
U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones announced on Oct. 13, 2010, that a 25-year-old Red Lake, Minn., man was sentenced in Minneapolis for assaulting and breaking the nose of an officer of the Red Lake Tribal Police Department in January 2010.  U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis sentenced Jarod Lee White to 41 months in prison on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. White was indicted on April 6, 2010, and pleaded guilty on June 17, 2010.  In his plea agreement, White admitted that on Jan. 17, 2010, he head-butted the officer while at the Red Lake Detention Center. White had been arrested on outstanding tribal warrants and assaulted the officer while being booked at the center.

www.justice.gov/usao/mn/press.html

Minnesota Man Sentenced for Sexually Abusing a Girl (U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota)
U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones announced on Oct. 13, 2010, that a 29-year-old Red Lake, Minn., man was sentenced earlier today in federal court in Duluth, Minn., for sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl while on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. U.S. District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Jonathan Ross Graves to 72 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release on one count of sexual abuse. Graves was indicted on
December 16, 2009, and pleaded guilty on May 27, 2010.  In his plea agreement, Graves admitted engaging in sexual intercourse with the girl, without consent, by placing her in fear. The act took place on Feb. 7, 2008. Graves was indicted on Dec. 16, 2009.

www.justice.gov/usao/mn/press.html

Nevada Man Sentenced for Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada)
U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden announced that Kentsler Lee Jones, an enrolled member of a recognized Indian tribe, was sentenced on Oct. 12, 2010, to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his guilty plea to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.  On December 21, 2009, Jones stabbed a Bureau of Indian Affairs police officer in the hand with a knife. The incident occurred outside a residence on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Owyhee, Nev., as the officer was trying to arrest the defendant for vandalism.

www.justice.gov/usao/nv/press/index.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Porcupine, S.D., man charged with abusive sexual contact of a child was sentenced on Oct. 12, 2010, by Chief U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier.  Ralph Charles Bear Killer, 59, was sentenced to 72 months in prison, 20 years of supervised release and a $100 victim assessment.  Bear Killer was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 16, 2010.  In June and December 2005, Bear Killer engaged in sexual contact with a girl under the age of 12 while she was in his home.  He pleaded guilty to the offense on July 16, 2010.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

Antoine Robert Three Fingers Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
U.S. Attorney Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on Oct. 12, 2010, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Antoine Robert Three Fingers, a 26-year-old resident of Lame Deer, Mont., pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Sentencing has been set for Jan.12, 2011.  In an offer of proof, the government stated it would have proved at trial that “CK” is Three Fingers’ girlfriend and the mother of his child.  She has been a victim of domestic abuse by Three Fingers on numerous occasions during the three years they have been a couple, including one that led to a conviction in Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court. 

www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, S.D., man charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury was sentenced on Oct. 12, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Canton Luke Egna, also known as Luke Egna, 19, was sentenced to 21 months in custody, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund.  Egna was indicted for first degree burglary and assault resulting in serious bodily injury by a federal grand jury on May 11, 2010.  The charge relates to an incident that took place in August 2009 when Egna, along with another individual, entered a residence in Green Grass, S.D., and committed an assault on a male occupant of the house.  Egna pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury on July 8, 2010.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Contact with a Child (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Jerry R. Farlee, 58, of Eagle Butte, S.D., appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on Oct. 12, 2010, and pleaded guilty to a superseding information that charged him with sexual contact with a child.  The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.  Restitution may also be ordered.  The charge relates to Farlee having sexual contact with three different female children, who were younger than 12 years of age, on different occasions from 1993 to 2006. 

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a St. Francis, S.D., man charged with assault with a dangerous weapon was sentenced on Oct. 12, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Billy Ray Earl McCloskey, age 19, was sentenced to 21 months in prison, with credit given for time served, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment.  McCloskey was indicted for assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury by a federal grand jury on May 11, 2010.  The charge relates to McCloskey assaulting another with a knife on Jan. 12, 2010, in Todd County, S.D.  He pleaded guilty to the charge on July 9, 2010.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

Soo Tribe Woman Sentenced for Fatally Assaulting Her Handicapped Son (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan)
U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced on Oct. 12, 2010, that Theresa Marie Finfrock, 31, of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for assault resulting in substantial bodily injury. In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered Finfrock to serve two years of supervised release following her release from prison and to pay a $100 special assessment. Finfrock pleaded guilty to the charge on June 1, 2010. During her plea, Finfrock admitted to assaulting her severely handicapped 7 year-old son at her residence located on land held in trust by the U.S. for the use of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in January, 2005. This assault resulted in substantial brain injuries which ultimately led to her son’s death.

www.justice.gov/usao/miw/press/index.html

Soo Tribe Man Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Minor (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan)
U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced on Oct. 12, 2010, that George Vernon Rogers, Jr., 26, of Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison for sexual abuse of a minor. In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered Rogers to serve 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison and to pay a $100 special assessment. Rogers pleaded guilty to the charge on July 1, 2010. During his plea, Rogers admitted to having sexual intercourse with a 15 year-old girl at his residence located on land held in trust by the U.S. for the use of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in 2008.  Rogers had previously been convicted in Sault Ste. Marie Tribal Court of sexually assaulting a 15 year-old girl in 2002.

www.justice.gov/usao/miw/press/index.html

South Dakota Man Charged with Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Michael A. Hollow Horn, 33, of Eagle Butte, S.D., appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on Oct. 10, 2010, and pleaded guilty to count II of an indictment that charged him with an assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years in custody, a $250,000 fine, or both; three years of supervised release; and a $100 special assessment.
The charges arose out of a car crash in Eagle Butte in November 2009 in which a woman and a child were seriously injured.  The defendant was under the influence of alcohol when he caused the crash.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a man charged with assault with a dangerous weapon was sentenced on Oct. 7, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.  Julian Poor Bear, 19, of Allen, S.D., was sentenced to 36 months of in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release.  He was also ordered to pay $240 in restitution to the victim and $100 to the Victim Assistance Fund.  As part of his plea agreement, Poor Bear admitted he became upset over a conversation between two other persons, and as a result of his anger, produced a knife and stabbed one of the persons.   The victim suffered injuries requiring stitches to close the wounds.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

FBI Honors Montana Doctor for Protecting Native American Children (FBI Salt Lake City Field Office)
Special Agent in Charge James S. McTighe of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office presented the 2010 Director’s Community Leadership Award to Earl Sutherland, Jr., Ph.D on Oct. 7, 2010. The FBI chose Dr. Sutherland for his work in protecting Native American children who are victims of sexual abuse and other violent acts. As a clinical child psychologist, Dr. Sutherland provides diagnostic and treatment services designed to stop the cycle of violence.  In April 2007, Dr. Sutherland started the Child and Adolescent Referral and Evaluation Centers on the Crow Indian Reservation. In January 2010, he started a second CARE Center on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Both facilities are located in Southeastern Montana.

saltlakecity.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel10/slc100610.htm

Four Navajo Men Charged in Connection with Sept. 4, 2010 Homicide (U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico)
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales announced on Oct. 6, 2010 that a federal grand jury in Albuquerque, NM indicted Brian Thompson, 20, of Standing Rock, N.M., Presley Shorty, 21, of Littlewater, N.M., Kelvin Augustine, 20, of Crownpoint, N.M., and Byron Pahe, 20, of Crownpoint, in connection with the murder of Vinton Wally and assault on his son, Nathaniel Wally.  The four defendants previously were charged in a criminal complaint filed on Sept. 6, 2010.  The charges against the four defendants arise out of a gang-related confrontation that occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 4, 2010 in a Native Housing Authority complex in Littlewater.

www.justice.gov/usao/nm/pr/index.html

South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Federal Officer (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Randy Running Horse, 33, of Mission, S.D., appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on Oct. 6, 2010, and pleaded guilty to an indictment that charged him with assaulting a federal officer.  The maximum penalty upon conviction is 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both; up to three years of supervised release; and a $100 special assessment.  Restitution may also be ordered.  The charge relates to Running Horse kicking a federal officer on June 5, 2009, in Parmelee, S.D. 

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Brian Roach, 39, of Ridgeview, S.D., was convicted Oct. 6, 2010, of aggravated sexual abuse of a child as a result of a federal jury trial.   Roach was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2010 for an incident of aggravated sexual assault on a child near La Plant, S.D.  The charge alleged that between March 1999 and February 2002, Roach sexually abused a female child who was younger than 12 years of age.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Aggravated Sexual Abuse (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a man charged with abusive sexual contact of a child and failure to update as a sex offender was sentenced on Oct. 6, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Richard H. Battey.  Wambli Yellow  Bird, Sr., 34, of Pine Ridge, S.D., was sentenced to 15 years in prison and lifetime supervised release.  Yellow Bird was indicted for aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact by a federal grand jury on Aug. 25, 2009.  Yellow Bird pleaded guilty on July 20, 2010, to an information admitting to inappropriately touching a girl under the age of 12 years, as well as failing to register as a sex offender.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

Oklahoma Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Steal from Tribe by Staging a Fake Armed Robbery (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma)
U.S. Attorney Sanford C. Coats announced on Oct. 6, 2010, that William Jeffery Brady, 21, from Clinton, Okla., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft from the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes by staging a fake armed robbery.   The Tribes own the Cheyenne and Arapaho Smoke Shop on Indian land in Clinton, which sells tobacco products and other items to the public.  Brady worked as a security guard for the Smoke Shop.  Brady pleaded guilty to conspiring with another man (John Doe) to stage a fake armed robbery from the Smoke Shop in December 2009.  Specifically, while working as a security guard on Dec. 8, 2009, Brady intentionally left a Smoke Shop door unlocked so that his co-conspirator could gain entry, armed with a handgun. Brady admitted that approximately $42,000 in cash was stolen from the Smoke Shop safe.   At some point between April and June of 2010, Brady received some of the stolen cash from John Doe. 

www.justice.gov/usao/okw/

South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Structuring Currency Transactions (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Earl Matthew Bordeaux, Jr., 55, of Mission, S.D., appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on Oct. 5, 2010, and pleaded guilty to count VII of the indictment that charged him with structuring currency transactions.  The charge stems from Bordeaux structuring financial transactions at the bank to avoid the bank filing reports of currency transactions of large amounts of cash.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

Two Sentenced for Distribution of a Controlled Substance (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Rapid City, S.D., man and a Pine Ridge, S.D., woman charged with distribution of a controlled substance were sentenced on Oct. 5, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Richard H. Battey.  Jessica Richards, 20, was sentenced to 33 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 victim assessment.  Uriah Lafferty, 25, was sentenced to 71 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 victim assessment.  Richards and Lafferty were indicted by a federal grand jury on April 21, 2009.  In August 2008, after an investigation conducted by law enforcement, both were found to be distributing methamphetamine near Rapid City.  They each pleaded guilty to the charge on July 20, 2010.

www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

Three Life Sentences for Brutal Murder in Gila River Indian Community (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke announced on Oct. 5, 2010, that Eugene Joseph Escalanti, 34, of Tucson, Ariz., was found guilty by a federal jury on June 25, 2010 of first degree murder, kidnapping and first degree murder/felony murder. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Susan R. Bolton to three concurrent life sentences in a federal prison.  The evidence at trial showed that on July 19, 2009, Escalanti, an enrolled member of the Quechan Indian Tribe, was negotiating the sale of a recreational vehicle with the victim when he began assaulting the victim with a pair of pruning shears. Escalanti then bound the victim’s hands together and directed a witness to drive them to a remote area of the Gila River Indian Community. Once on the reservation, Escalanti beat the victim with a wrench and slit his throat, killing him.

www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/index.html

Minot Woman Sentenced for Purse Theft at Casino (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Oct. 5, 2010, Connie J. Pfau, 51, of Minot, N.D., pleaded guilty and was sentenced before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Charles S. Miller, Jr., on a charge of larceny.  Magistrate Judge Miller sentenced Pfau to two years of probation and ordered Pfau to pay a $25 special assessment to the Crime Victim's Fund. On April 23, 2010, a woman reported to Sky Dancer Casino security personnel in Belcourt, N.D., that her purse had been stolen from her vehicle while parked in the casino parking lot. Pfau was identified on casino surveillance entering the victim’s vehicle and stealing a purse. Pfau discarded the purse in some water near the roadside on her way back to Minot.

www.justice.gov/usao/nd/pressreleases/index.html

Navajo Man Pleads Guilty to Second Degree Murder (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke announced on Oct. 5, 2010, that Derek Donald Chee, 24, of Blue Gap, Ariz., pleaded guilty to second degree murder in federal district court in Phoenix.  Chee was charged with second degree murder and assault resulting in serious bodily injury for killing a relative and assaulting a family friend on Oct. 19, 2009, near the Blue Gap Chapter House.  Chee admitted to striking his relative repeatedly in the head with a blunt object which caused his death.
       
www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/index.html

Former Top Official with Inland Empire Indian Tribe Pleads Guilty, Admits Taking Nearly $875,000 in Bribes (U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California)
U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. announced on Oct. 5, 2010, that the former chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians pleaded guilty to federal charges related to his acceptance of approximately $875,000 in bribes from tribal vendors and concealing that income from the Internal Revenue Service.  Robert Salgado Sr., 68, pleaded guilty to two felony charges – bribery and subscribing to a false tax return.   In a plea agreement filed today, Salgado admits that he accepted a total of $874,995 in bribe payments from five vendors who did business with the Soboba Band. The payments to Salgado, which were made by vendors hoping to obtain or being allowed to keep contracts with the tribe, were given to Salgado in the form of cash, payments made to his creditors and checks payable to an entity controlled by Salgado.
    
www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/index.html

Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Arson (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
U.S. Attorney Dennis K. Burke announced on Oct. 4, 2010, that Marty Charles Randall, 20, of San Carlos, Ariz., pleaded guilty to arson, in federal district court in Phoenix.  On Oct. 30, 2009, Randall, a member of the San Carlos Apache Indian Tribe, while intoxicated, intentionally set fire to a Pontiac Grand Prix automobile and a residence located on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. The residence was occupied by Randall’s father and sisters. A San Carlos Police Officer saw the resulting fire, responded to the residence and removed the occupants.  The San Carlos Fire Department arrived on scene and extinguished the fire.  While the Pontiac and a portion of the residence were destroyed by the fire, no one was injured.

www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/index.html