Jordan Everett Stevens, Murder and Discharge of a Firearm, Washington 2021

Yakima, WA - A federal jury in Yakima, Washington, convicted Jordan Everett Stevens of First Degree Murder and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

The crime occurred on April 30, 2019, in Toppenish, Washington. Stevens, an Indian, assaulted a woman and then murdered a Native American woman, ACM, within the external boundaries of the Yakama Nation. Stevens erroneously believed that ACM provided information to the police after she had a conversation with responding officers.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Stevens and two females drove ACM to a rural section of the Yakama reservation on May 3, 2019. Stevens pulled ACM out of the vehicle and shot her in the head as payback for speaking with the police. Stevens threatened to kill the female witnesses if they told anyone about the murder.

The FBI was alerted by a family member that ACM was missing and immediately began an investigation. On May 29, 2019, the FBI found ACM's body in a remote area of the Yakama Indian Reservation. Shortly after, the FBI found the second female witness who confirmed what had happened to ACM.

On July 17, 2019, an Indictment was filed charging Stevens with Discharge of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and First Degree Murder. A jury trial began on June 7, 2021, at the federal courthouse in Yakima. Multiple witnesses were reluctant to testify out of fear of retribution and refused to appear for court. They were subsequently apprehended with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service and testified at the trial.

On June 10, 2021, a federal jury found Stevens guilty of First Degree Murder and Discharge of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. A conviction for First Degree Murder carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. Stevens will be sentenced on September 1, 2021.

Acting United States Attorney Joseph H. Harrington commended the officers with the Yakama Nation Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Klickitat County Sheriff's Office for their seamless partnership in investigating this case. Investigating and prosecuting cases involving Missing and Murdered Indigenous Person (MMIP) is a top priority of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Washington.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edwa/pr/toppenish-man-convicted-murdering-native-american-woman-within-external-boundaries