Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Brutal Manslaughter Of Another Man On Nevada Indian Colony In December 2011

   RENO, Nev. – A man who killed another man with a shotgun on the Battle Mountain Indian Colony in Lander County, Nev., in December 2011 was sentenced on April 21, 2014, to 30 years in federal prison, announced United States Attorney Daniel G. Bogden.

Daniel James Draper, 48, who was convicted by a jury in January 2014 of voluntary manslaughter and use of a firearm during a crime of violence causing death, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.  The sentence was the maximum allowed under federal law for those offenses. 

“The 30-year prison sentence imposed against defendant Draper cannot bring Linford Dick back or undo any of the violent criminal acts inflicted upon him,” said United States Attorney Bogden.  “Hopefully, the verdicts and sentence provides some measure of justice to the victim, his family, and the Battle Mountain Indian Colony community. We will continue our outreach and law enforcement efforts in an attempt to make our tribal communities safe.”

According to the court records, on Dec. 20, 2011, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Draper smashed a front window and entered a home on the Indian Colony, and shot and killed the victim, Linford Dick.  Draper also used the shotgun to strike and beat the victim in the head. Two other women and a child were in the home at the time. 

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Lander County Sheriff’s Office, and the Battle Mountain Indian Colony Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Rachow and William R. Reed