Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced for Misdemeanor Assault Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Julius Scott Mendez, 21, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to two years of probation for his misdemeanor assault conviction. Mendez also spent 65 days in federal custody while awaiting sentencing.

Mendez was arrested on Oct. 10, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault.  According to court filings, Mendez assaulted the victim, another Mescalero Apache man, in a location within the Mescalero Apache Reservation.

Mendez pled guilty on June 25, 2014, to a misdemeanor information charging him with assault by striking, beating or wounding.  During his plea hearing, Mendez admitted to assaulting the victim in the early morning hours of Oct. 10, 2013, by kicking the victim in the face and chest.  Mendez also acknowledged that, at the time of the assault, the victim was lying on the ground and unable to defend himself.

This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.