Tonalea Man Sentenced To 12 Years in Federal Prison for Kidnapping

PHOENIX – On March 12, 2018, Roscoe Peter Begay, 37, of Tonalea, Ariz., and a member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 12 years in prison, followed by a term of five years of supervised release.  Begay had previously pleaded guilty to kidnapping. 

On Feb. 7, 2017, the Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement responded to a domestic violence call at Begay’s residence.  When officers arrived, Begay ran into the home and locked the door.  While inside, Begay kept the victim in the back bedroom of the home and would not answer the door or respond to multiple commands by law enforcement to allow them entry into the home.  Begay refused to allow officers into the home until he was told that a Special Response Team and the Federal Bureau of Investigation were being contacted.  The victim is also a member of the Navajo Nation and the kidnapping occurred on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Department of Law Enforcement.  The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.