Defendant Prosecuted as Part of Federal Initiative to Address the Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women
ALBUQUERQUE - Sonny Roy Valdez, 20, a member and resident of the Mescalero Apache Nation, was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 30 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his federal assault conviction. Valdez was also ordered to pay $3,028.00 in restitution to the victim of his crime.
Valdez was arrested on June 5, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the criminal complaint, Valdez assaulted his intimate partner, a Mescalero Apache woman, on May 27, 2014, by biting off part of her lip. The victim’s injuries required medical treatment and hospitalization. The offense occurred within the Mescalero Apache Reservation in Otero County, N.M.
On Nov. 12, 2014, Valdez pled guilty to a felony information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and admitted assaulting the victim. His guilty plea was entered without the benefit of a plea agreement.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
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
