NAVAJO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO MURDER OF NAVAJO NATION POLICE SERGEANT

                 PHOENIX – Today, Victor Bigman, 49, of Kaibeto, Ariz., pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder in Federal District Court in Phoenix. Bigman is scheduled to be sentenced before U.S. District Judge James A. Teilborg in Phoenix on July 9, 2012 at 4 pm.

                 Bigman had been charged with First Degree Murder for the killing of Navajo Nation Police Sergeant Darrell Curley on June 25, 2011. Today, he pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense of Second Degree Murder.

                 The plea agreement contains a stipulated sentencing range of not less than 25 years, and not more than 35 years, in prison. Court documents indicate that Sergeant Curley was attempting to take Bigman’s son into custody when Bigman shot and killed him. At today’s hearing, Bigman admitted that he shot Sergeant Curley four times.

                 A conviction for Second Degree Murder carries a maximum penalty of life in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. In determining an actual sentence, Judge Teilborg will consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges. Judge Teilborg, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

                 The investigation in this case was conducted by the FBI, the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, and the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The prosecution is being handled by Roger Dokken and Sharon K. Sexton, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-11-8156-PCT-JAT
RELEASE NUMBER:   2012-088(Bigman)

# # #

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/