Jicarilla Apache man sentenced to over 15 years in prison for kidnapping conspiracy in Indian Country

            ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Andrew Bettelyoun, 26, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, was sentenced today in federal court to 15 years and 8 months in prison for conspiring to commit kidnapping in Indian Country. Bettelyoun pleaded guilty on Jan. 30, 2019. 

            In his plea agreement, Bettelyoun admitted to assisting his co-conspirator, Allister Quintana, 26, also of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe, by providing binding material and moving the victim from room to room in a house in Dulce, New Mexico, on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation.  The victim died as a result of the injuries he sustained during the kidnapping.

            On Jan. 22, 2019, Quintana pleaded guilty to second degree murder in Indian Country. On Sept. 21 he was sentenced to 33 years in prison.

            Upon his release from prison, Bettelyoun will be subject to five years of supervised release.

            The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Jicarilla Apache Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Spindle and Frederick Mendenhall prosecuted the case.

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