RENO, Nev. - An Owyhee, Nevada, man was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release for second-degree murder of a person on Duck Valley Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada.
Borden Bitt, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Larry R. Hicks. Bitt pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder within Indian Country. He is a member of the Shoshone Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Owyhee is located within the exterior boundaries of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation and is designated as Indian Country.
According to court documents, on July 23, 2017, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) received an emergency phone call about a fight at a house on Atkins Road in Owyhee. A BIA officer arrived on scene and found the victim face down in a pool of blood on the floor. Emergency medical services arrived and determined that the victim was deceased. Bitt admitted that he approached the victim from behind with a large single-blade hunting knife and slit the victim’s throat.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sue Fahami.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
