Red Lake Man Sentenced To 236 Months In Prison For Murder

United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker announced the sentencing of JOSHUA FRANCIS HILL, 20, to 236 months in prison for the murder of a minor victim on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. HILL, who pleaded guilty on January 19, 2018, was sentenced on May 15, 2018, before Senior Judge Paul A. Magnuson in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on June 25, 2017, law enforcement officers responded to a call reporting a deceased male subject at a private residence on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. When law enforcement officers arrived on the scene, they found the body of a deceased juvenile male who was the apparent victim of a fatal gunshot wound. 

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, on the day of the shooting, HILL was feuding with the victim over a stolen Playstation 3. HILL shot and killed the victim with a .308 rifle that HILL had in his possession leading up to the shooting. Following the shooting, on June 27, 2017, HILL asked two individuals to dispose of the rifle for him. Law enforcement agents recovered the rifle, which was consistent with a witness description of the rifle HILL was seen handling the day of the shooting.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw prosecuted this case.

Defendant Information:

JOSHUA FRANCIS HILL, 20

Red Lake, Minn.

Convicted:

• Murder in the second degree, 1 count

Sentenced:

• 236 months in prison
• Five years of supervised release

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United States Attorney’s Office, District of Minnesota: (612) 664-5600