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Press Release

Non-Indian Man from Albuquerque Sentenced for Burglarizing Two Isleta Pueblo Homes

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Roman I. Trujillo, 29, a non-Indian man residing in Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 23 months in prison for burglarizing two homes in Isleta Pueblo, N.M.  Trujillo will be on supervised release for one year after completing his prison sentenced

Trujillo and his co-defendant, Danielle Bercier, 35, a non-Indian woman who also resides in Albuquerque, were arrested on Jan. 29, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with burglary offenses.  According to the complaint, on Jan. 29, 2015, officers of the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department responded to calls regarding burglaries at two residences in the Pueblo.  At the second residence that was burglarized, officers came upon Trujillo who was fleeing from the residence in a vehicle in which Bercier was a passenger.  Trujillo led the officers on a chase which ended when Trujillo crashed his vehicle.

 Trujillo and Bercier were subsequently charged in a four-count indictment filed on Feb. 25, 2015.  The indictment charged both Trujillo and Bercier with two counts of burglary of a dwelling.  It also charged Trujillo alone with driving a vehicle in a manner that endangered the life of another person and receiving stolen property, the truck he was driving, on Jan. 28, 2014, in Indian Country in Valencia County, N.M.

On Nov. 18, 2015, Trujillo pled guilty to the two burglary counts and admitted that on Jan. 29, 2015, he forced his way into two homes in Isleta Pueblo while Bercier stayed outside as his lookout.  Trujillo admitted that in the first home he stole property worth $1,500.00, and at the second home he stole two cellphones.  Trujillo acknowledged that he knew or should have known that the truck he was driving as he attempted to evade arrest was a stolen vehicle. 

On March 29, 2016, Bercier pled guilty to one count of burglary and admitted that Trujillo forced himself into a home in Isleta Pueblo and removed $1,500 worth of property while Bercier remained outside as a lookout.  Bercier was sentenced on Aug. 17, 2016, to three years of probation.         

This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback prosecuted the case.

Updated November 8, 2016

Topic
Indian Country Law and Justice