Fort Hall Man Sentenced for Tribal Theft

POCATELLO - Demetrius Anthony Gomez, 28, of Fort Hall, Idaho, was sentenced today to time served—eight months in prison, including 90 days tribal jail time—for theft from a tribal organization, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge also ordered Gomez to pay $1,984.00 in restitution, and to serve three years of supervised release.  Gomez pleaded guilty on February 25, 2015.

On April 2, 2014, Gomez, an off-duty employee of the Sage Hill Travel Center, a gas station, convenience store and casino on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, near Exit 89 from Interstate 15, entered the travel center at about 3:50 am.  The defendant told his fellow employee at the front desk that he was checking the schedule.  The defendant went to the rear office and a few minutes later walked out and exited the store.  The fellow employee became suspicious of the defendant and checked the back room.  He reviewed the surveillance recording of the room and saw that the defendant had removed money from the safe in the room.  A review of the surveillance recording in the front part of the store later showed that the defendant re-entered the store while the fellow employee was checking the back office.  The defendant then removed additional money from a box under the cash register.  An audit showed $1,984.00 missing from the Sage Hill Travel Center.

The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department.