TRIBAL JUSTICE NEWS
WEEK OF OCTOBER 5, 2010

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

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

North Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Theft from Casino (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Oct. 1, 2010, Shane Trottier, 40, of Belcourt, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to a charge of theft by officers and employees of gaming establishments on Indian lands.  In January 2010 Shane Trottier was employed as a cage cashier at the Sky Dancer Casino in Belcourt. Casino security became suspicious of Trottier when he was not signing some of his fill bags. Security officials reviewed surveillance recordings and found that Trottier was shorting the money bags and taking money through improper ticket transactions.

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

Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Sexually Abusing a Boy (U.S. Attorney for the Minnesota)
U.S. Attorney B. Todd Jones announced on Oct. 1, 2010, that a 22-year-old Red Lake, Minn., man pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis to sexually abusing a boy on the Red Lake Indian Reservation last year. Appearing before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Michael J. Davis, Eagle Wind Lajeunesse pleaded guilty to one count of abusive sexual contact. He was indicted on Nov. 4, 2009.  In his plea agreement, Lajeunesse admitted that between Sept. 1, 2008, and March 16, 2009, he knowingly engaged in sexual contact with a male who had not attained the age of 12.  According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, Red Lake Family and Children Services contacted the FBI on Aug. 30, 2009, to report that the boy was being sexually abused.

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

Former Instructor Pleads Guilty to Stealing Computers from Turtle Mountain Community College (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Oct. 1, 2010, Martin L. Henry, 47, of Rolla, N.D., pleaded guilty to larceny before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland.  Henry was employed at the Turtle Mountain Community College as a part-time instructor for computer classes in the technology department. Henry stole 17 laptop computers and computer repair kits from the college and sold or pawned the stolen items at area pawn shops.

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

New Mexico Man Charged with First Degree Murder (U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico)
U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales announced on Sept. 30, 2010, that Lucas Michael Ray Steven Toledo, 22, a resident and enrolled member of the Jemez Pueblo, has been charged with the first degree murder of Matthew Panana, 21, also an enrolled member of the Jemez Pueblo. According to the criminal complaint filed in federal court, Toledo murdered Panana in the early hours of Sept. 29, 2010 outside Toledo’s residence on the Jemez Pueblo Reservation. The criminal complaint alleges that Toledo acknowledged murdering. Panana sometime after 1:30 a.m. on Sept. 29, 2010, after Panana repeatedly disrupted Toledo as he was attempting to sleep by knocking on Toledo’s bedroom window. In response to Panana’s disruptive behavior, Toledo went outside the residence and attacked Panana with a box-cutter razor and kitchen knife.

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

Kim Brien 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 Sept. 30, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, Kim Brien, a 35-year-old resident of Crow Agency, Mont., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori H. Suek, the government stated it would have proved at trial, that on three separate occasions, twice in October 2008, and once in November 2008, on the Crow Indian Reservation and in the Hardin area, a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) confidential source purchased meth from Brien.  When interviewed, Brien admitted that she had been distributing meth for about six or seven months, and she also admitted that she obtained one-quarter ounce of meth at least once per week.  Brien further admitted that she helped weigh and package multiple ounce quantities of meth on at least two occasions.

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

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Burglary at Sitting Bull College (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Sept. 30, 2010, Jesse W. Village Center, 34, of Little Eagle, S.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of burglary. Village Center pleaded guilty to the charge on June 21, 2010.  Judge Hovland sentenced Village Center to six months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Village Center was ordered to pay restitution of $13,262.22 and a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund.
In November 2009 Village Center broke into a garage at the Sitting Bull College campus in Fort Yates, N.D., and stole a 2003 Chevrolet pickup. Village Center took
the pickup to the Grand River Casino near Mobridge, S.D., and was identified on the casino’s video surveillance as the driver of the vehicle. Village Center abandoned the pickup south of Isabel, South Dakota, and was located walking on the roadway and arrested.

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

North Dakota Man Sentenced for Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Sept. 28, 2010, Austin M. DeCoteau, 28, of Belcourt, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. DeCoteau pleaded guilty to the charge on July 16, 2010.  Judge Hovland sentenced DeCoteau to credit for time served of 131 days at the Bismarck Transition Center, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  On April 5, 2008, DeCoteau and the victim were drinking at Nutty’z Bar in Belcourt, and they continued to drink there after the bar closed. Video surveillance obtained from Nutty’z depicted DeCoteau and the victim sitting across from one another at the bar. DeCoteau reached across the bar and struck the victim in the face.

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

Former BIA Corrections Officer Sentenced for Sexual Abuse of a Ward (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Sept. 28, 2010, Judson P. Elk, 37, of Belcourt, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of sexual abuse of a ward.  Elk pleaded guilty to the charge on July 19, 2010.  Judge Hovland sentenced Elk to time served, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Elk will participate in five months of home confinement without electronic monitoring. Elk was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund and must register as a sex offender.  In August 2009 Elk was employed as a corrections officer at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Detention Center in Belcourt. During his working hours, Elk engaged in a sexual act with an inmate at the detention center. The activity was discovered when the inmate’s cellmate came forward with information about the event.

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

North Dakota Man Sentenced for Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Sept. 27, 2010, Michael L. Demery, 26, of Dunseith, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland on a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Demery pleaded guilty to the charge on June 29, 2010.  Judge Hovland sentenced Demery to two years and nine months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Demery was also ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund and $34,224.21 in restitution.  In the early morning hours of Jan. 19, 2010, the victim was giving Demery a ride home when they began to argue. Demery used his fists to strike the victim in the face multiple times.

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

Thirty Year Sentence for Sexual and Physical Abuse (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
U.S. Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on Sept. 27, 2010, Monty M. Mariner, 30, of New Town, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland on charges of sexual abuse, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon. Mariner was found guilty of the charges by a federal jury on June 17, 2010. Judge Hovland sentenced Mariner to 30 years in federal prison, lifetime supervised release, a $300 special assessment to the Crime Victim’s Fund and restitution of $29,300.67. In November 2009 on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, Mariner physically and sexually assaulted a woman inside a motor vehicle after leaving a house party in New Town. The victim suffered life-threatening injuries.

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

Mississippi Woman Sentenced for Embezzlement from a Tribal Organization (U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi)
U.S. Attorney Donald R. Burkhalter announced on Sept. 23, 2010, that Arlene Tubby, age 44, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate to three years probation and ordered to pay $4,538 dollars in restitution.  Tubby was previously convicted of embezzlement from a tribal organization. Tubby embezzled the funds from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians while employed as a court clerk for the Choctaw Tribal Court system in 2008. 

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