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A federal jury in Albuquerque late Wednesday found Jerome Yazzie, 36, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who lives in To’hajiilee, guilty of burglary, robbery, kidnapping and firearms charges arising from a June 3, 2011 crime spree on Indian land in Bernalillo County, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
Jurors deliberated about six hours following a three-day trial before convicting Yazzie of aggravated burglary, robbery, kidnapping and two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence, but they acquitted Yazzie of being a felon in possession of a firearm and a second aggravated burglary charge, the release said.
He faces maximum sentences of 14 years for burglary, 15 years for robbery and 10 years for kidnapping plus fines, and he also faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence of each of the five counts for his firearms convictions, according to federal prosecutors.
Yazzie was transferred from state to federal custody on Feb, 2, 2012, and he remains in custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
Evidence at trial established that in the early hours of June 3, 2011, Yazzie forced his 15-year-old daughter and her 18-year-old boyfriend to accompany him in a crime spree that included burglarizing two residences in To’hajiilee at gunpoint, committing a robbery, kidnapping a young man and discharging his firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
