Defendant Prosecuted as Part of Federal Initiative to Address
the Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women
ALBUQUERQUE - Terrance Julian, 30, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., pleaded guilty today to a federal assault charge.
Julian was arrested on Aug. 21, 2014, on an indictment alleging that on Oct. 14, 2012, he assaulted a woman with a dangerous weapon, and brandished a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. The indictment alleged that Julian committed the crimes on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M.
Today Julian pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In entering his guilty plea, Julian admitted assaulting his intimate partner, a Jicarilla Apache woman, by striking her with a rifle.
Julian was remanded into federal custody after entering his guilty plea and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Julian faces a statutory maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison.
This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams.
The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
