December 4, 2008
SOUTHERN UTE TRIBAL MEMBER SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR ASSAULT RESULTING IN SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
DENVER – Bernard Louis Pena, age 32, of La Plata County, Colorado, was sentenced earlier this week by U.S. District Court Judge John L. Kane to serve 30 months in federal prison for assaulting his girlfriend, causing serious bodily injury. Following his prison sentence, Pena was ordered to spend 3 years on supervised release and pay a $5,000 fine. Pena was remanded into custody to start serving his prison sentence immediately.
Bernard Louis Pena was arrested on June 2, 2008 based on a Criminal Complaint. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on June 18, 2008. He pled guilty before Judge Kane on August 12, 2008. He was sentenced by Judge Kane on December 1, 2008.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on May 24, 2008, Pena, an enrolled member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, repeatedly assaulted his girlfriend at their home on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. That morning Pena’s girlfriend thought she was going to die, as he told her this was her last day and by night she would be dead. On four different occasions throughout the day Pena placed a pillow over the victim’s face, putting his hands over her nose and mouth to prevent her from breathing. The defendant also bit the top of the victim’s head, and pulled back her middle finger on her left hand. He also choked her. The victim waited until Pena left the house before fleeing to a nearby RV park to call the police.
Officers noted that the victim had bruising covering most of her face. Both of her eyes were dark red and swollen. Her right eye was swollen shut. She had numerous other bruising and scratches about her body. She was transported to a local hospital, where doctors determined that she had serious bodily injuries, including an orbital face fracture and a fracture of her middle finger, among other injuries.
“The credibility of the federal government’s trust responsibility to Native people depends on how effectively we work with Tribes to protect domestic violence victims,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid. “By partnering with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s Department of Justice, my office has increased domestic violence prosecutions and provided much-needed criminal justice training to more than 400 Indian Country officers – including the Tribal investigator in this case.”
This case was investigated by the Southern Ute Police Department, with assistance from the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office and the Durango Police Department.
Pena was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Todd Norvell and Robert Mydans.
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