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Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that a man from Alexandria was sentenced on January 14, 2019 to 12 months in prison for stealing $8,600 from the Jena Choctaw Pines Casino.
Eddie Ray Washington, 36, of Alexandria, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on one count of theft from an Indian tribal organization. He was also sentenced to two years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $8,600 restitution. According to the October 4, 2018 guilty plea, Washington entered the Jena Choctaw Pines Casino on September 18, 2018, approached an unoccupied teller station at the cash counter, leaned over the counter, removed $8,600 from a cash drawer and exited the casino. Casino security officers were able to identity Washington using video surveillance and he was later arrested.
Jurisdiction in Indian Country is based upon the unique sovereign relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. Congress has criminalized certain acts that take place in Indian Country. The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecutes all felony cases arising in Indian Country covered by federal criminal law.
The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti is prosecuting the case.