Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Robbing Bank in Farmington

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning in federal court, Ralph L. Eagler, 62, of Cortez, Colorado, pled guilty to an indictment charging him with bank robbery under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Under the terms of the plea agreement, Eagler will be sentenced to eight years of imprisonment, to be followed by a supervised release term to be determined by the court. Eagler has been in federal custody since his arrest on February 4, 2009, and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has not yet been set.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Eagler pled guilty to robbing the Citizen’s Bank branch located at 2911 East 20th St. in Farmington, New Mexico, on February 4, 2009. Prosecution of the case was delayed by competency proceedings.

According to the criminal complaint, the Citizen’s Bank was robbed by Eagler, who entered the bank, presented a demand note to the teller, and claimed to have a handgun. After the teller provided Eagler with a large sum of money, Eagler was observed fleeing the bank on foot. Thereafter, a witness outside the bank observed Eagler drive away in a gold Chevrolet SUV with Colorado license plates. Eagler was arrested after Farmington Police Department officers stopped a vehicle that fit the description of the vehicle provided by the witness. Eagler was brought to the scene, where the bank teller positively identified Eagler as the bank robber.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Farmington Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer M. Rozzoni and Jacob A. Wishard.

Alleged Murder Arrested on the Navajo Nation

Farmington, NM - Deputies and Investigators with the United States Marshals Service Southwest Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) Task Force arrested Murder Suspect Evander Tsosie on the morning of May 22, 2012. Tsosie was wanted for the stabbing death of Nathan Lee on March 29, 2012.

The Farmington Police Department Detective Division requested assistance from the SWIFT Task Force in the apprehension of Tsosie, believing he fled to the Navajo Reservation to avoid apprehension. Task Force Officers assigned to the SWIFT Taskforce requested formal Extradition from the Navajo Nation Criminal Prosecutors Office and received Extradition approval for Tsosie on 05/21/2012.

Tsosie was believed to be residing on the Navajo Reservation approximately 3 Miles NW of Blue Gap store in Blue Gap/Pinon, AZ. SWIFT Task Force Officers and Deputy United States Marshals from the District of Arizona Flagstaff sub office and Navajo Nation Criminal Investigators were able to locate and apprehend Tsosie. Tsosie will have an extradition hearing with the Navajo Nation before being released into State custody.

United States Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria stated “with lightning like speed, the Marshals Service is prepared to respond at any stage of an investigation that can result in the apprehension of a dangerous fugitive, this arrest is another testament to the effectiveness of the Marshals Service and the extraordinary partnerships with local, county, state and tribal law enforcement agencies; adding to the efficiency of the Marshals Service is the ability to reach out to any of the 94 federal districts and obtain the assistance of the Marshals Service personnel to assist with the investigation of any potential leads that may result in the arrests of dangerous fugitives”.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

Two Men Sentenced for Racially Motivated Assault in New Mexico

First Defendants Charged Under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

WASHINGTON—Paul Beebe and Jesse Sanford of Farmington, N.M., were sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Santa Fe, N.M., on federal hate crime charges related to a racially motivated assault on a 22-year-old developmentally disabled man of Navajo descent, the Department of Justice announced. Beebe was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison followed by three years’ supervised release. Sanford was sentenced to five years in prison followed by three years’ supervised release. A third defendant, William Hatch, of Fruitland, N.M., previously pleaded guilty in June 2011 to conspiracy to commit a federal hate crime. Hatch has not yet been sentenced.

Beebe, Hatch, and Sanford were indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2010 on one count of conspiracy and one count of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Shepard/Byrd Act). They were the first defendants ever to be charged under this law, which was enacted in October 2009. Beebe pleaded guilty to one count of violating the Shepard/Byrd Act, and Sanford pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit a violation of the Shepard/Byrd Act.

“The sentence imposed today by the court reflects the hateful and heinous nature of the defendants’ actions, and serves as a reminder of courage of the victim who survived those acts and reported these crimes,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will not tolerate violent racially motivated assaults and will continue to work cooperatively with our state and local partners to aggressively enforce the Shepard/Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act.”

“Today the court sentenced Paul Beebe and Jesse Sanford to significant terms of imprisonment for the inexcusable crime of assaulting, branding, and scarring a young man simply because he happened to be a Native American,” said Kenneth J. Gonzales, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico. “Violence motivated by racial or ethnic hatred exacerbates fear and tears at the fabric of our society. Here in New Mexico, where we celebrate our ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity, I will continue to work with the FBI to vigorously investigate and prosecute acts of violence that are motivated by hatred of another’s race or ethnic heritage.”

“Today’s sentencing is the result of the hard work of FBI special agents and our law enforcement partners, who were committed to pursuing justice until the perpetrators of this hate crime answered for their actions. But the fight against acts of hatred and intolerance goes on,” said Carol K.O. Lee, Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Division of the FBI. “The Albuquerque FBI Division will continue to work with our federal, state and local law enforcement colleagues to investigate hate crimes, the number one priority of our civil rights program.”

During their plea hearing in August 2011, Beebe and Sanford admitted that Beebe took the victim to his apartment, which was adorned in racist paraphernalia, including a Nazi flag and a woven dream catcher with a swastika in it. After the victim had fallen asleep, the defendants began defacing the victim’s body by drawing on him with blue, red, and black markers. Once the victim awoke, Beebe branded the victim, who sat with a towel in his mouth, by heating a wire hanger on a stove and burning the victim’s flesh, causing a permanent deep impression of a swastika in his skin. The defendants used a cell phone to create a recording of the victim in which they coerced him to agree to be branded.

The defendants also admitted that they defaced the victim’s body with white supremacist and anti-Native American symbols, including shaving a swastika in the back of the victim’s head and using markers to write the words “KKK” and “White Power” within the lines of the swastika. The defendants further mocked the victim’s heritage by drawing an ejaculating penis and testicles on the victim’s back, telling him that they were drawing his “native pride feathers,” all the while recording the incident on a cell phone to later play for law enforcement, as “proof” that the victim consented to their acts.

The prosecution of these defendants was the result of a cooperative effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and the San Juan, N.M., County District Attorney’s Office. This case was investigated by the Albuquerque Division of the FBI in cooperation with the Farmington Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Roberto Ortega for the District of New Mexico and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard Hogan and Trial Attorney Fara Gold of the Civil Rights Division.