Gavin Yepa, Felony Murder, New Mexico 2015

A 31-year-old Jemez Pueblo man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for a brutal crime that shocked the community. Gavin Yepa, 31, a member and resident of Jemez Pueblo, New Mexico, was sentenced on July 27, 2015, to life imprisonment on his felony murder conviction.

The case began on December 28, 2011, when a 38-year-old Navajo woman was taken to Yepa’s residence in Jemez Pueblo. The next morning, Yepa contacted tribal officials and reported that the woman was not breathing. When officials arrived, they found the victim’s nude body, covered in blood, in a bedroom.

The investigation that followed revealed a horrific crime scene, with the victim having been brutally sexually assaulted with three items. DNA analysis confirmed that the victim’s blood was on all three items. Yepa had previously been arrested on related tribal charges on December 28, 2011.

Yepa was arrested on January 3, 2012, on a federal complaint charging him with killing the 38-year-old Navajo woman during a sexual assault. In January 2012, a federal grand jury indicted Yepa on a felony murder charge alleging that the victim died as the result of an aggravated sexual assault by Yepa.

The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, with assistance from the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Officials, the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Police Department, and the Crime Scene Unit of the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Niki Tapia-Brito and Linda Mott prosecuted the case.

Gavin Yepa, a resident of Jemez Pueblo, was found guilty of felony murder on August 7, 2015. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to improving the safety of women in tribal communities by working with tribal governments to decrease the number of Native American women who fall victim to violence. The FBI also pledges to vigorously pursue justice for each and every victim, especially those who suffer unspeakable crimes and can no longer speak for themselves.

The prosecution of this case was part of 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.

Related Federal Cases