Gerald James Viarrial, Assault and Firearms Charges, New Mexico 2021

Grimy Times reported that a federal jury sitting in Santa Fe, N.M., returned a verdict last night finding Gerald James Viarrial, a 53-year-old member of Pojoaque Pueblo who resides in Santa Fe, N.M., guilty on assault and firearms charges after a three-day trial.

The guilty verdict was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Special Agent in Charge William McClure of District IV of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services.

Viarrial was charged with assault, firearms, and child abuse offenses in a seven-count indictment filed on January 21, 2015. The indictment charged Viarrial with assaulting a female and two minors with a firearm; assaulting one of the minors by strangulation, causing him to suffer serious bodily injury; committing child abuse; and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

The indictment alleged that Viarrial committed six of the seven crimes in Indian Country in Santa Fe County on a date between July 15, 2010 and August 15, 2010, and that the assault resulting in serious bodily injury occurred on March 24, 2014. The female victim is Viarrial’s former intimate partner and the mother of his children.

Law enforcement authorities first learned about Viarrial’s criminal conduct on March 24, 2014, when they received a verbal report of child abuse from a social service provider. The report indicated that a teenager, one of the minor male victims, had requested help to keep his mother, his siblings, and himself safe from abuse from Viarrial.

Viarrial testified in his own defense and denied assault charges. The trial concluded last night around 9:00 p.m., when the jury returned a verdict finding Viarrial guilty on all four assault charges and the firearms charge. The United States dismissed one of the child abuse charges before the case was submitted to the jury, and the jury acquitted Viarrial on the second child abuse charge.

Viarrial’s sentencing is pending. The maximum sentence for each of the assault charges is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000; the maximum sentence for the firearms charge is up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Pojoaque Pueblo Tribal Police Department.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/federal-jury-finds-pojoaque-pueblo-man-guilty-assault-and-firearms-charges