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Tribal Justice News

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WEEK OF MAY 25, 2010

North Dakota Woman Pleads Guilty in Stabbing Incident (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota) Acting U.S. Attorney Lynn Jordheim announced on May 24, 2010, that Crystal J. Morin, of Belcourt, N.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to a count of assault with a dangerous weapon.  During the early morning hours of April 19, 2009, Morin stabbed the victim in the chest with a knife outside the victim’s residence after a dispute between the victim and another male.  The injury the victim sustained was not life threatening.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nd/pressreleases/index.html

Man Charged with Selling Protected Eagle and Hawk Feathers (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada) A man who works as an announcer at Native American Pow Wow events has been indicted on federal charges of unlawfully selling Native American costume clothing containing the feathers of federally-protected bird species, announced Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada.  Terry Fiddler is charged with one count of selling a dance bustle (arrangements of feathers worn on the body) in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, one count of selling a dance bustle in violation of the Lacey Act, one count of selling a war bonnet (headdress) in violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, and one count of selling a war bonnet in violation of the Lacey Act.  Fiddler allegedly sold the dance bustle and war bonnet in Las Vegas to Special Agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who were posing undercover.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nv/press/index.html

Plea Agreement Reached with Defendant in Navajo Nation Assault Case (U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah) Acting U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen announced on May 21, 2010, that Michael Whitehorse, of Montezuma Creek, Utah pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to a felony information charging him with one count of abusive sexual contact.  As a part of a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors, Whitehorse admitted that on Dec. 2, 2009, while on Navajo Nation land, he knowingly engaged in sexual contact with the victim while she was being forcibly restrained. Whitehorse is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.  Also charged in the case are Cynthia Bitsuie and Johnson Joe, both of Montezuma Creek.

http://saltlakecity.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel10/slc052110.htm

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Voluntary Manslaughter (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota) U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that a Cherry Creek, S.D., man charged with voluntary manslaughter was sentenced on May 20, 2010, by U.S. District Judge Roberto A. Lange.  A'bleza Skyler Oakie, aka Skyler Oakie, was sentenced to 78 months in custody, three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment to the Victim Assistance Fund.  Oakie was indicted for second degree murder by a federal grand jury on Nov. 3, 2009.  The charge relates to the Oct. 21, 2009, death, by blunt force trauma to the head, of a 42-year-old Cherry Creek man.

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

Darin Seth Oleyte Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on May 19, 2010, Darin Seth Oleyte, a 19-year-old resident of Crow Agency, was sentenced to 26 months in prison in connection with his guilty plea to sexual abuse of a minor.  According to court documents, on July 14, 2009, at about 5:30 a.m., the minor victim was found passed out, with her pants down, laying near the Crow Agency School.  Her BAC was .377.  The minor victim had been drinking at the school after midnight with her friend and three boys, one of them was Oleyte.  He admitted that he had sexual intercourse with the minor victim, and he admitted that she was very drunk.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Arizona Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Abusive Sexual Contact (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona) U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke announced that Rendell Gene, 37, of Pinon, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt to five years in federal prison for committing the crime of abusive sexual contact.  This sentence of imprisonment will be followed by five years of supervised released. On Nov.r 23, 2009, the defendant pled guilty to forcibly grabbing the victim’s vaginal area and picking her up and throwing her against the wall after ordering her to take off her clothing.  Gene also dragged the victim around his hogan by her left breast.  This occurred during a night where the defendant also repeatedly punched the victim’s face, head and upper body area and kicked her lower body area leaving bruises.  The crime occurred on or about March 4, 2009, on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation. 

http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/index.html

Ataloa Rose Runs Above Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on May 19, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, Ataloa Rose Runs Above, a 32-year-old resident of Lame Deer, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the sexual abuse of a minor.  According to court documents, in December 2009, a juvenile female disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Runs Above’s husband when she was 14 years old – in August 2008 and into the fall of 2008.  She stated that he had sexual intercourse with her four times at the home of Runs Above and her husband in Lame Deer.  The sexual activity was arranged by Runs Above.  Both Runs Above and her husband are Indian persons and the events occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Brian Lee Blackwolf Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings on May 19, 2010, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, Brian Lee Blackwolf, a 29-year-old resident of Lame Deer, pled guilty to sexual abuse of a minor.  According to court documents, in December 2009, a juvenile female disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Blackwolf when she was 14 years old – in August 2008 and into the fall of 2008.  He admitted that in August 2008 and into the fall that he had sexual intercourse with the victim three times.  He stated that his wife set it up the first time by asking him if he would.  He believed that the victim was 12 or 13-years-old at the time.  Both Blackwolf and his wife are Indian persons and the events occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Man Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Abuse (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan)

Eugene Walter George Rantanen, 22, of L’Anse, Mich., a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced on May 19, 2010.  In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered Rantanen serve 10 years of supervised release following his release from prison, to pay a $100 special assessment and to register as a sex offender. Rantanen was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor after a two-day jury trial last December.  The jury found that Rantanen, who was 18-years-old at the time, engaged in a sexual act with a 14 year-old child at a residence located within the boundaries of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in August 2006.  Rantanen was acquitted of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/miw/press/index.html

Nebraska Woman Charged with Embezzlement (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska) U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced on May 19, 2010, that Karen Red Owl, age 51, of Niobrara, Neb., was charged in a one-count indictment with embezzlement from an Indian tribe.  From on or about March 1, 2006, and continuing to on or about Feb. 28, 2007, Red Owl, an employee of the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, embezzled more than $1,000 for her own use from the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/ne/press/

Nebraska Man Charged with Embezzlement (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska) U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced on May 19, 2010, that Duane Whipple, age 41, of Niobrara, Neb., was charged in a one-count indictment with embezzlement from an Indian tribe.  According to court documents from 2005 to 2007, Whipple, an employee of the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, embezzled more than $1,000 for his own use from the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/ne/press/

Nebraska Man Charged for Stealing from Slot Machines (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nebraska) U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Gilg announced on May 19, 2010, that Bianco White, age 36, of Niobrara, Neb., was charged in a one-count indictment.  According to court documents, White, an employee of the Ohiya Casino, operated by the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska, stole more than $1,000 from various slot machines and kept the money for his own personal use.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/ne/press/

South Dakota Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sexual Abuse (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota) Acting U.S. Attorney Lynn Jordheim announced that on May 18, 2010, Francis M. Baker, Jr., 35, of McLaughlin, S.D., pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland to a charge of aggravated sexual abuse of a child.  Baker admitted that from September 1995 to August 2002, on the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation, he engaged in sexual acts with a child under 12 years of age.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nd/pressreleases/index.html

Long-Time Alien Smuggler on Tohono O’odham Nation Sentenced to 37 Months in Prison (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)

U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke announced on May 18, 2010, that Cameron Romero Chavez, 65, of Sells, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Bury to 37 months imprisonment.  Chavez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens for profit.  On Jan. 30, 2009, Border Patrol agents followed footprints of suspected undocumented aliens in the desert near San Miguel, on the Tohono O'odham Indian Nation.  Agents followed the footprints to a wash and ultimately to the residence of the defendant.  Chavez gave consent to search and agents found approximately 185 kilograms of marijuana.  Chavez also admitted that he was involved in transporting and harboring illegal aliens since the early 1990s.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/index.html

South Dakota Man Sentenced for Assaulting a Federal Officer (U.S. Attorney for the District of South Dakota) U.S. Attorney Brendan V. Johnson announced that Harold Drapeau, Jr. was sentenced to 27 months in custody for assaulting a federal officer resulting in bodily injury.  Drapeau was indicted by a grand jury on Sept. 15, 2009, for assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer in Buffalo County on Aug. 23, 2009.   He was found guilty by a federal jury on Feb. 24, 2010.

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

Nevada Woman Pleads Guilty to Simple Assault (U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada) U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden announced on May 17, 2010, that Miranda Greene of the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation in Nevada pleaded guilty to simple assault of a minor.  Greene admitted to striking the minor with an object on her legs, causing bruising.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nv/press/index.html

Kevin Falcon Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, Mont., on May 17, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Kevin Falcon was sentenced to 110 months in connection with his guilty plea to being a felon-in-possession of a firearm.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Dale Andrew Roundstone Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana) U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana Michael W. Cotter announced that during a federal court session in Billings, Mont., on May 14, 2010, before U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan, Dale Andrew Roundstone was sentenced to 151 months in prison.  Roundstone was sentenced after having been found guilty during a three-day trial of kidnapping and assault resulting in serious bodily injury within the exterior boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/last20.html

Inmate Sentenced to Seven Years in Prison for Assaulting Corrections Officer (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)

U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Dennis K. Burke announced that Leonard Fisher, 24, of Parker, Ariz., was sentenced on May 17, 2010, by the Honorable Frederick J. Martone to 86 months in federal prison and more than $6,000 in restitution for assault on a federal officer.  Fisher punched an on-duty corrections officer several times in the face, causing broken facial bones, a damaged palate and permanent damage.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/index.html