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'Tribal Justice News' from Department of Justice
Every week, the Department of Justice compiles a list of recent federal activity in Indian Country. Here is the latest "Tribal Justice News" for the week of November 2.

Attorney General Delivers Remarks at Department’s Tribal Nations Listening Session (AG)
Oct. 29, 2009, marked the conclusion of the Department’s Tribal Nations Listening Session, part of the Department's ongoing initiative to increase engagement, coordination and action on tribal justice.  The Deputy Attorney General and the Associate Attorney General also addressed these issues during the two-day event.

Attorney General Eric Holder’s remarks: http://www.justice.gov/ag/speeches/2009/ag-speech-091029.html

Deputy Attorney General David W. Ogden’s remarks: http://www.justice.gov/dag/speeches/2009/dag-speech-091029.html

Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli’s remarks: http://www.justice.gov/asg/speeches/2009/asg-speech-091029.html

Red Lake man sentenced for assaulting someone with scalding water (U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota)
A Red Lake, Minn., man was sentenced on Oct. 30, 2009, in federal court for assaulting someone by pouring scalding water and food on them.  Ronald Dean Oakgrove was sentenced to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  Oakgrove was indicted on Jan. 13, 2009, and pleaded guilty on April 13, 2009.  In his plea agreement, Oakgrove admitted that on Dec.15, 2008, he assaulted a victim and also admitted that he poured scalding water and food upon the victim’s head, neck, shoulders and arms.  As a result of the assault, the victim suffered extreme physical pain.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mn/press.html

Maricopa Man Convicted of Multiple Aggravated Assaults With Firearms (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
Damien Miguel Zepeda, 24, of Maricopa, Ariz., was found guilty by a federal jury on Oct. 29, 2009, of one count of conspiracy, one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, four counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.  Zepeda remains in custody pending sentencing on January 25, 2010.  The evidence at trial showed that on Oct. 25, 2008, Damien Zepeda and his two brothers and co-defendants, Matthew Zepeda and Jeremy Zepeda, went to a home on the Ak-Chin Indian Reservation.  Damien was upset because his former girlfriend was going to get a tattoo on her chest.  Damien confronted the former girlfriend and hit her on the head with a gun.  The tattoo artist came out of the home and Damien shot him several times.  The victim suffered gunshot wounds from a shotgun and pistol and was hospitalized.

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

Ernest William Peltzer Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Billings on Oct. 28, 2009, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Ernest William Peltzer, a 49-year-old resident of Lodge Grass, pled guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a minor.  Sentencing is set for Jan. 27, 2010.  He is currently released on special conditions.  On April 1, 2008, a female individual disclosed that she had been sexually abused by Peltzer when she was approximately 11-years-old. 

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

Aberdeen Man Sentenced for Marijuana Grow on Tribal Land (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington)
Dusty Wambolt, 38, of Aberdeen, Wash., was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2009, in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to four years in prison and three years of supervised release for manufacturing marijuana.  Wambolt was arrested in October 2008 and pleaded guilty on May 4, 2009, following the investigation of a marijuana grow on Quinault Tribal Land.  At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle noted it was the third time Wambolt has been prosecuted for illegal marijuana grows.  As part of the term of supervised release, Wambolt will also have to serve 60 hours of community service, which the judge said should benefit the Quinault Nation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/waw/press/2009/oct/wambolt.html

Jeremiah Paul Stewart Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on Oct. 28, 2009, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Jeremiah Paul Stewart, a resident of Crow Agency, was sentenced to a term of three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Stewart was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to the robbery of the TeePee Service, a convenience store in Crow Agency, located within the exterior boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation in August 2006.

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

Nineteen Year Sentence for Drunk Driving Fatalities (U.S. Attorney for the District of North Dakota)
Acting U.S. Attorney Lynn C. Jordheim announced that on Oct. 27, 2009, Randolph Lone Fight, 57, of Mandaree, N.D., was sentenced before U.S. District Court Chief Judge Daniel L. Hovland on three counts of involuntary manslaughter resulting from a drunk driving motor vehicle crash on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in October 2008.  Chief Judge Hovland ordered Lone Fight to serve 19 years and three months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Lone Fight was also ordered to pay $300 in special assessments to the Crime Victim's Fund and restitution of $1,085.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/nd/pressreleases/2009/10-27-2009-Lone%20Fight%20Sentenced.pdf

Norman Juniper Bell Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Oct. 26, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Norman Juniper Bell, a 25-year-old resident of Hays/Lodgepole, was sentenced to 32 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Bell was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  At approximately 5:00 a.m. on March 13, 2009, Bell rolled his truck after failing to negotiate a curve while driving south on Fort Belknap Road 345, which is within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Belknap Reservation.  His passenger was thrown from the truck and suffered numerous injuries, the most serious of which were C-spine fractures with associated spinal cord injuries, rendering her quadriplegic.   

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

Sherman Joseph Lavallie, Jr. Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Oct. 26, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Sherman Joseph Lavallie, Jr., a 19-year-old resident of Harlem, Mont., was sentenced to a term of three years in prison followed by supervised release for the rest of his life.  Lavallie was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to abusive sexual contact. 

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

Mark Steven Elk Shoulder Found Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that on Oct. 26, 2009, in Billings, after a 1-day federal district court trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, Mark Steven Elk Shoulder, a 43-year-old resident of Lame Deer/Billings/Bozeman, was found guilty of failure to register as a sexual offender.  A date for sentencing will be set at a later time.  He is currently detained.  Elk Shoulder faces possible penalties of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and lifetime supervision.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20091026164206.html

Wesley Dean Wells Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Oct. 26, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Wesley Dean Wells, a 31-year-old resident of Browning, was sentenced to a term of three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release.  Wells was also order to pay $742,592.06 in restitution.  Wells was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20091026161113.html
      
Highest Official With Inland Empire Indian Tribe Surrenders to Federal Authorities on Bribery Charges (U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California)

The chairman of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians surrendered on Oct. 23, 2009, to federal agents after being indicted on federal charges of accepting a quarter million dollars in bribes from tribal vendors and concealing income from the IRS.  The indictment charges Salgado with conspiring to solicit and accept tens of thousands of dollars in bribes from four vendors in exchange for them obtaining contracts with the tribe or being allowed to keep existing contracts. According to the indictment, the four vendors paid bribes to Salgado in the form of cash, payments made to his creditors and checks payable to a company that Salgado had established.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2009/125.html

Emery Paul Nault Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District Of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on Oct. 22, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, Emery Paul Nault, a 45-year-old resident of Box Elder, pled guilty to theft from an Indian tribal organization receiving federal funding.  Sentencing is set for Jan. 14, 2010.  Nault had been employed by the Chippewa Cree Tribe Natural Resources Department Fire Suppression Program since November 1999.  In April 2001, he became the Fire Management Officer.  An investigation determined, and Nault admitted, that he systematically misused three credit cards that were supposed to be used for business only on 174 occasions between January 2003 and June 2006, incurring $10,849.84 in personal transactions that were paid by the Chippewa Cree Tribe.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20091022150451.html

Aaron James Pepion Pleads Guilty in U.S. Federal Court (U.S. Attorney for the District Of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on Oct. 22, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Aaron James Pepion, a 29-year-old resident of Browning, pled guilty to sexual abuse of a minor.  Sentencing is set for Jan. 21, 2010.  He is currently detained. Pepion faces possible penalties of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20091022145706.html

Gerhard Curtis Stern Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District Of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on Oct. 22, 2009, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, Gerhard Curtis Stern, a 32-year-old resident of Ashland, was sentenced to a term of 480 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release.  Stern was sentenced after having been found guilty during a 2-day trial of aggravated sexual abuse.  Stern is an enrolled member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and the events occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20091022144853.html

Northern Ariz. Man Charged With Embezzling $39,000 From Tribal Organization (U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona)
Harry Tso, Jr.,39, of Window Rock, Ariz., was arraigned in federal court on Oct. 21, 2009, on one count of embezzlement from an Indian Tribal Organization.  He pleaded not guilty to the charge in the indictment.  Trial is scheduled for Dec. 1, 2009, in Prescott, Ariz.  The indictment alleges that between Oct. 13, 2004, and June 29, 2007, as an employee of the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company, Tso embezzled $39,223.91 from the Window Rock Chevron gasoline station and convenience store.  The station and store are owned by the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company.  A conviction for embezzlement from an Indian Tribal Organization carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both. 

http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/press_releases/2009/2009-332(Tso).pdf

Former Secretary-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement From Tonkawa Tribe (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma)

On Oct. 21, 2009, Dawena Pappan, 39, of Ponca City, Okla., pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron to embezzling funds from the Tonkawa Tribe of Oklahoma, announced Robert J. Troester, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma.  Pappan, who is a member of the Tonkawa Tribe, served as the Tribe’s Secretary-Treasurer and was a member of the Tribe’s Business Committee from mid-1999 through mid-2008.  She pled guilty to having worked with other tribal officers from April 2005 through April 2008 to take several hundred thousand dollars of proceeds from the Tribes casino operations for their personal use, rather than legitimate tribal activities.  

http://www.justice.gov/usao/okw/index.html

Arthur Brown, III and Cory Luwayne Brown Sentenced in U.S. District Court (U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana)
Bill Mercer, U.S. Attorney for the District of Montana, announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on Oct. 19, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, Arthur Brown, III, age 28, and Cory Luwayne Brown, age 26, residents of Poplar, were sentenced to 5 months and 103 days in prison, respectfully.  Both men were also sentenced to two years of supervised release.  They were sentenced in connection with their guilty pleas to possession of stolen firearms.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/mt/pressreleases/20091021093223.html

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