WEEK OF APRIL 13, 2010

Attorney General Hosts Department’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month Program (AG) On April 12, 2010, Attorney General Eric Holder hosted the Department’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month Event.  Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli, Office on Violence Against Women Director Judge Susan B. Carbon and OVW Deputy Director Catherine Pierce also delivered remarks.  The event highlighted the scope and impact of sexual assault throughout the life of a survivor, and included testimonials that focused on child, campus, prison and elder sexual abuse, as well as prevalence in tribal communities.

http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2010/ag-speech-100412.html

Idaho Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute Meth (U.S. Attorney for the District of Idaho) N’Quala John Bigman was sentenced on April 12, 2010, to 24 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.  Bigman, a 33 year-old member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, was stopped while driving by the FBI North Idaho Violent Crime Task Force, and subsequently led the officers to a large amount of methamphetamine and cash in a hotel room at a casino. 

http://www.justice.gov/usao/id/public–info/public–info.html

South Dakota Man Gets 90 Months for Sexual Abuse of Person Incapable of Consenting (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)

U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that Julius Holy Bear, Jr., age 22, of Eagle Butte, S.D., who was charged with sexual abuse of a person incapable of consenting, was sentenced on April 12, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Holy Bear, Jr. was sentenced to 90 months in prison, five years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund.  The charges relate to Holy Bear’s sexual abuse of an Eagle Butte woman in April 2009.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

Jury Convicts Woman for Concealing Person From Arrest (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)      U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that Mary Lambert, age 33, of Rosebud, S.D., was convicted April 9, 2010, of concealing a person from arrest.  This charge carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, or both, and one year of supervised release. The charge stems from an incident in August 2009, when Lambert allowed a fugitive to stay at her home and drive her vehicle, which was used in a high-speed chase with law enforcement officers.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/Media.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Running Over Child While Being Intoxicated (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)    

U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that a man charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury was sentenced on April 9, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Viken.  Rolland Gene Kills Straight, aka Woody, age 34, of Kyle, S.D., was sentenced to 30 months in prison, three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $100 to the Victim Assistance Fund.  While under the influence of alcohol, Kills Straight drove a pickup truck and ran over a child, causing serious injury.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/media–news/RC-04-09-10-Straight.html

Marvin Jerome Fasthorse Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on April 8, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Marvin Jerome Fasthorse, a 45-year-old resident of Poplar, was sentenced to 130 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release.  Fasthorse was sentenced after having been found guilty at trial of sexual abuse.  The crime occurred on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20100408111929.html

Tulsa Man Charged With Burglarizing Smoke Shop (U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma) Carl Alexander Ruff, 29, a non-Indian from Tulsa, Okla., was indicted on April 8, 2010, for second degree burglary in Indian Country.  Ruff allegedly broke into the Firewalker Smoke Shop, an Indian-owned business in Tulsa on May 25, 2009.  The smoke shop was on Osage allotment land and managed by a Muscogee (Creek) Nation member.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/okn/press/Apr2010.pdf                         Former Mashantucket Pequot Pharmacy Employee is Sentenced (U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut) Nora R. Dannehy, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Deidre Eccleston, 44, of New London, Conn., was sentenced on April 8, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven, Conn., to one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for embezzling more than $40,000 from the Mashantucket Pequot Pharmacy.  From approximately July 2006 to January 2009, Eccleston, employed as an administrative assistant at the Mashantucket Pequot Pharmacy, which is located adjacent to the Foxwoods Casino, embezzled $41,256 in cash that was entrusted to her care.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/ct/Press2010/20100408-1.html

Benjamin Nez Sentenced for Escape (U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico) Benjamin Nez, 40, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on April 8, 2010, to 10 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera.  Nez pleaded guilty on Feb. 1, 2010, to one count of escape while at a halfway house. 

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nm/pr/index.html

Charles William Spotted Elk-Booth Jr. Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on April 7, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, Charles William Spotted Elk-Booth Jr., a resident of Lame Deer, Mont., was sentenced to a term of 300 months in prison to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.  Spotted Elk-Booth was sentenced after having been found guilty at trial of attempted aggravated sexual abuse.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20100407162620.html         William Alvin Wick Jr. Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on April 7, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, William Alvin Wick, Jr., a 28-year-old resident of Lame Deer, Mont., was sentenced to a term of 360 months in prison to be followed by 15 years of supervised release.  Wick was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to aggravated sexual abuse.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20100407160953.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Sexual Contact (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)      U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced on April 7, 2010, that an Oglala, S.D., man charged with abusive sexual contact was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard H. Battey.  Gerald George American Horse, age 46, was sentenced to 120 months in prison, lifetime supervised release, and a $100 victim assessment.  American Horse pleaded guilty on Jan. 20, 2010, to having sexual contact with a 12-year-old girl.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/media–news/RC-04-09-10-Horse.html

South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Shaking Child (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)      U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that Nicholas Allan Rivers, age 30, of Eagle Butte, S.D., appeared before U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange on April 7, 2010, and pleaded guilty assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  The maximum penalty upon conviction is 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both; three years of supervised release; and a $100 special assessment.  The charge stems from an incident involving Rivers’ assault of a two-year-old child, by shaking the child, causing serious brain injury.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/media–news/Pierre-04-09-10-Rivers.html

Luke John Scott Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) The U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on April 7, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Luke John Scott, a 22-year-old resident of Poplar, Mont., pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Sentencing has been set for July 26, 2010.  Scott faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years supervised release.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20100407155312.html

South Dakota Woman Must Serve Jail Time and Pay Restitution for Larceny of Red Cloud Indian School (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)    

U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that a woman charged with larceny and aiding and abetting was sentenced on April 6, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Richard H. Battey.  Dana Lonehill, age 38, of Pine Ridge, S.D., was sentenced to 18 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $18,714.25 in restitution and $100 to the Victim Assistance Fund.  Lonehill, along with two other individuals, stole money and inventory from the Heritage Center, Red Cloud Indian School.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/media–news/RC-04-09-10-Lonehill.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Assaulting, Resisting or Impeding a Federal Officer (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)    

U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that a             Mission, S.D., man charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer was sentenced on April 6, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  William Luxon, age 33, was sentenced to 13 months in prison, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund.  The charge relates to the events that took place on June 6, 2009, when Luxon resisted the efforts of an officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to place him under arrest.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/media–news/Pierre-04-07-10-Luxon.html

Eagle Butte Woman Pleads to Failure to Register as a Sex Offender (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota)      U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota Brendan V. Johnson announced that an Eagle Butte, S.D., woman charged with failure to register as a sex offender was sentenced on April 6, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  Joy Circle Eagle, age 41, was sentenced to four years of probation, a fine of $1,200 and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund.  The charge relates to the events that took place between Nov. 1, 2006, and June 13, 2009, when Circle Eagle failed to register as a sex offender.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/sd/media–news/Pierre-04-07-10-Eagle.html

Nathaniel Ben Ashley Charged With Involuntary Manslaughter (U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico) Nathaniel Ben Ashley, 26, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, appeared in federal court on April 6, 2010, and pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter.  The charge relates to an incident that occurred within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nm/pr/index.html

Lionel Tallwood Sentenced for Involuntary Manslaughter (U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico) Lionel Tallwood, 36, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on April 6, 2010, to 30 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Judith C. Herrera.  The case stemmed from an April 5, 2007, alcohol-related crash during which Eugene McArthur, 46, was killed.  The offense occurred near Crystal, N.M., within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nm/pr/index.html