Acoma Pueblo Man Sentenced for Federal Misdemeanor Assault Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Kevin Bernard Joe, 41, a member and resident of Acoma Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced yesterday in Santa Fe, N.M., to 11 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for his misdemeanor conviction of assaulting an Indian woman.

Joe was arrested on April 27, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with an assault charge.  According to the complaint, on March 23, 2015, the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department was notified by the victim of an assault occurring on Acoma Pueblo in Cibola County, N.M.  The complaint alleged that Joe assaulted the victim, an Acoma woman, by punching her and causing the victim to sustain injuries, including a laceration above her left eye.  Joe was subsequently indicted on May 12, 2015, and charged with assault of an intimate partner resulting in substantial bodily injury.

On June 29, 2015, Joe entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor information and admitted assaulting the victim by punching her with a closed fist.  He also acknowledged that his assault caused the victim to suffer a laceration to the left eye that required medical attention.

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez prosecuted the case.

The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.