A 23-year-old Mescalero Apache Nation man was sentenced to 66 months in prison for his role in a drive-by shooting on the Mescalero Apache Reservation.
Rufus Juan Lester, 23, was handed the sentence in federal court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on [DATE] for his conviction on eight counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence.
Lester was arrested on August 6, 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he fired multiple shots at a residence on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in the early hours of November 24, 2012.
He was subsequently indicted and charged with eight counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of discharging firearms during and in relation to crimes of violence.
On May 16, 2014, Lester pled guilty to Counts 1 through 8 of the indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In his plea agreement, Lester admitted riding in the passenger seat of a vehicle while another person drove past a residence in Mescalero, New Mexico. As the vehicle went past the residence, Lester used two rifles to shoot at the residence.
Lester acknowledged that the residence was occupied by two adults and six children at the time of the shooting, and that he assaulted each of the occupants when he shot at the residence.
This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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