Mescalero man pleads guilty to domestic assault in Indian Country

            ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Drew Jerome Beck, 28, of Mescalero, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, pleaded guilty on March 2 in federal court to domestic assault by a habitual offender. Beck will remain in custody pending sentencing.

            According to the plea agreement and other court records, on March 2, 2020, Beck assaulted his intimate partner, who is also an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, in their home in Otero County on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. The victim, identified in court records as Jane Doe, called 911. When an officer arrived at the home, Beck fled through the back door.

            Beck previously was convicted of battery against a household member in Ruisdoso, New Mexico, in 2011 and was convicted of domestic violence in Mescalero Tribal court in 2017. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

            The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Aaron O. Jordan is prosecuting the case.