Jicarilla Apache Man Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter Charge

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico
January 3, 2014

ALBUQUERQUE—Jeremiah Burns, 32, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, New Meixco, pleaded guilty this morning to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter.

Burns was arrested in August 2013, based on an indictment charging him with killing a man on October 22, 2011, while driving under the influence of alcohol within the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation. In entering his guilty plea, Burns admitted killing the victim while driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, which rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in handling a vehicle. As such, Burns acknowledged that he operated the vehicle without due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Burns will be sentenced to 20 months in federal prison, followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court. Burns’ sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI and the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.