Federal Criminal Complaint Filed Against James Ernest Lespier in Connection with Fatal Shooting

Defendant Charged with Murder in Relation to May 18, 2010 Shooting on The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Reservation

May 20, 2010 - ASHEVILLE, NC—U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina; Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Charlotte Division; and Ben Reed, Chief of the Cherokee Indian Police Department, today announced that James Ernest Lespier, 31, of Cherokee, an enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, has been arrested on a charge of murder in connection with a fatal shooting which allegedly took place on the reservation on May 18, 2010.

According to information contained in official court documents filed today, James Ernest Lespier, 31, is charged in a federal criminal complaint with one count of murder. If convicted, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of imprisonment for life. Lespier will make his initial appearance today in federal court in Asheville and is currently being held in local federal custody. Under the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, a defendant arrested on a federal criminal complaint is entitled to a probable cause hearing within ten (10) days of his/her arrest, unless indicted or unless a criminal information against the defendant is filed in U.S. District Court before the passage of 10 days.

The case is being handled for the government by Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.

The public is reminded that a criminal complaint contains mere allegations and that a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.