United States v. Joe Benally

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

On January 17, 2013, Carlos Harvey was shot in the chest with Benally’s rifle, killing Harvey. Both Benally and Harvey lived on the same multi-house compound in a rural part of the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation in Oak Springs, Arizona. On April 30, 2013, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against Benally for the second-degree murder of Carlos Harvey and for using a firearm in connection with a “crime of violence.”

At trial, the government presented evidence that, after a day of drinking, Benally shot Harvey intentionally after an argument. Other government evidence indicated that the shooting was accidental and part of a drunken game. The jury did not convict Benally of second-degree murder, but of the lesser-included offense of involuntary manslaughter. The jury, instructed to find involuntary manslaughter to be a “crime of violence,” also convicted Benally of using a firearm in connection with a “crime of violence” under § 924(c). Benally appeals his conviction on both counts.

JURISDICTION

An “Indian” who commits murder or manslaughter in “Indian country” is subject to applicable federal criminal laws. 18 U.S.C. § 1153(a). The location of…