ALBUQUERQUE - Roman I. Trujillo, 28, a non-Indian man residing in Albuquerque, N.M., pleaded guilty today in federal court to burglarizing two homes in Isleta Pueblo, N.M., under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Trujillo and his co-defendant, Danielle Bercier, 34, a non-Indian woman also residing in Albuquerque, were arrested on Jan. 29, 2015, and charged in a criminal complaint with burglary occurring in Indian Country on the Isleta Pueblo Indian Reservation. According to the complaint, on Jan. 29, 2015, officers of the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department responded to calls regarding burglaries at two residences in the Pueblo. At the second residence that was burglarized, officers came upon Trujillo who was fleeing from the residence in a vehicle in which Bercier was a passenger. Trujillo led the officers on a chase which ended when Trujillo crashed his vehicle.
Trujillo and Bercier were subsequently charged in a four-count indictment filed on Feb. 25, 2015. The indictment charged both Trujillo and Bercier with two counts of burglary of a dwelling. It also charged Trujillo alone with driving a vehicle in such a manner that endangered the life of another person and receiving stolen property, a 2006 Toyota Tacoma truck, on Jan. 28, 2014, in Indian Country in Valencia County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, Trujillo pled guilty to the two burglary counts and admitted that on Jan. 29, 2015, he forced his way into two homes in Isleta Pueblo while Bercier stayed outside as a lookout. Trujillo admitted that in the first home he stole property worth $1,500.00, and at the second home he stole two cellphones. Trujillo acknowledged that he knew or should have known that the truck he was driving as he attempted to evade arrest was a stolen vehicle.
At sentencing, Trujillo faces a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison on each of the two burglary counts. Trujillo has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Bercier has entered a not guilty plea and is in custody pending trial which is currently scheduled for Jan. 25, 2016. Charges in indictments are merely accusations and criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Southern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Isleta Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
