Laguna Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Kidnapping Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Aaron Alonzo, 35, an enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo who resides in Dulce, N.M., pled guilty yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a kidnapping charge.  Alonzo entered the guilty plea under a plea agreement that recommends a prison sentence within the range of 60 to 120 months followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Alonzo was arrested on Feb. 6, 2017, on an indictment charging him with aggravated sexual abuse, kidnapping, and assault of an intimate partner by strangling or suffocating.  According to the indictment, Alonzo committed the offenses on Nov. 7, 2015, on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M.

During yesterday’s proceedings, Alonzo pled guilty to the kidnapping charge.  In entering the guilty plea, Alonzo admitted seizing and confining the victim in a residence against her will on Nov. 7, 2015, to prevent her from calling the police.  Alonzo also admitted threatening the victim with physical violence if she attempted to leave the residence or to reveal his presence to a visitor in the residence.  When the victim escaped from the residence the following morning, Alonzo fled when he learned that the police had been called.

Alonzo remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case as part of 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 American 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.