May 28, 2008

WHITEMAN SENTENCED TO 25 YEARS FOR MURDER, ASSAULT ON UTE MOUNTAIN UTE RESERVATION

            DENVER – Roybal Whiteman, age 23, of Towaoc, Colorado, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Court Judge Edward W. Nottingham to serve more than 25 years in federal prison for second-degree murder and assault with a dangerous weapon on the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservation, United States Attorney Troy Eid and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge in Denver James Davis announced.  Chief Judge Nottingham pronounced the sentence at a hearing in Durango, Colorado.  Whiteman was remanded into custody and ordered to start serving his sentence immediately.
            On November 7, 2007, Whiteman, an enrolled member of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe, was indicted for the second degree murder of Tracy Lynn King, also a Ute Mountain Ute member.  On November 28, 2007, Whiteman, was indicted in a separate case for the assault of Delamar May, a Ute Mountain Ute member, with a dangerous weapon (a knife).  On February 29, 2008, Whiteman pled guilty before Chief Judge Nottingham to the assault charge and the second degree murder charge.  He was sentenced by the Chief Judge on May 27, 2008.
            According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement in the assault case, on December 29, 2006, Whiteman stabbed Delamar May in the back, stomach, left forearm and wrist, causing the victim serious bodily injury.
            According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement in the second degree murder case, on the evening of November 5, 2007, while attending a party, Whiteman accused Tracy Lynn King of stealing his beer.  The defendant then fired a pistol at King three times, resulting in fatal wounds to the victims’ upper left of her chest, traveling through her heart, and her left abdomen.
            “My heart goes out to Tracy King’s family, and to Delamar May,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid.  “This office won’t rest – ever – until justice is done for the people of Towaoc and the entire Ute Mountain nation."

            “This case represents a successful investigation in partnership with Bureau of Indian Affairs,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge James Davis.
            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services – Ute Mountain Ute Agency.
            The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Norvell in Durango.

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