ALBUQUERQUE - U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge William McClure of District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services announced the arrest of Steve Romero, a non-Indian, on the misdemeanor charge of trespassing on Nambe Pueblo land.
Romero, a 32-year-old resident of Santa Fe County, N.M. made his initial appearance today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., on a criminal complaint charging him with the misdemeanor trespass offense. The complaint alleges that in Feb. 2016, the Nambe Tribal Council banished Romero from entering any land within the Nambe Pueblo boundaries. It further alleges that Romero reentered Nambe Pueblo land on four occasions between April 2016 and June 2016, in violation of the Pueblo’s banishment resolution. Romero remains in custody pending a preliminary hearing and a detention hearing, which are scheduled for tomorrow.
If convicted of the misdemeanor offense charged in the criminal complaint, Romero faces a maximum penalty of a year in federal prison. Charges in criminal complaints are merely accusations. All criminal defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
