Yakima, Washington – Vanessa R. Waldref, the USA Lawyer for the Japanese District of Washington, introduced right now that Jordan Everett Stevens, age 31 of Wapato, Washington was sentenced by Chief District Decide Stanley A. Bastian for the 2019 homicide of Alillia “Lala” Minthorn. Stevens was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Following right now’s sentencing, U.S. Lawyer Waldref acknowledged, “the execution and homicide of this younger indigenous girl was horrific. It’s the obligation of legislation enforcement and the USA Lawyer’s Workplace to hunt justice for all victims and their relations. Not everybody who suffered a loss on this case will be capable to discover solace regardless of the lifetime of imprisonment that was handed down right now, and our hearts exit to Ms. Minthorn’s household.”
In line with court docket paperwork and proof elicited at trial, on Could 3, 2019, a member of the family reported that Ms. Minthorn was lacking. She was final seen within the Toppenish space, getting right into a automobile. Roughly two weeks later, an eyewitness knowledgeable the FBI that Stevens shot and killed Ms. Minthorn within the closed portion of the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation, north of Brownstown, Washington. The witness advised investigators she and one other girl had been current when Stevens killed Ms. Minthorn. FBI Particular Brokers and Yakama Nation Police Division officers searched the realm described by the witness; nonetheless, as a result of the realm was distant and huge, Ms. Minthorn’s physique was not discovered at the moment. On Could 29, 2019, the witness led brokers to Ms. Minthorn’s physique. An post-mortem later confirmed that Ms. Minthorn had been killed by a single gunshot to the top.
The trial of Jordan Stevens started on June 7, 2021, and the jury returned a responsible verdict on June 10, 2021. Stevens was discovered responsible of 1 depend of First-Diploma Homicide and one depend of Brandishing a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence.
At right now’s sentencing, Chief Decide Stanley Bastian, who presided over the jury trial, acknowledged that Stevens made “the choice to execute Alillia Menthord – a call that [he] has to reside with and a call that [he] must pay for.” In announcing Stevens’s sentence, Chief Decide Bastian then expressed his heartfelt sorrow to the household of the sufferer and explaining that Stevens “victimized and damage a complete group.”
U.S. Lawyer Waldref counseled the efforts of the investigators and prosecutors who labored to convey justice to the victims of Stevens’s crimes. U.S. Lawyer Waldref acknowledged, “This sentence demonstrates that those that victimize members of our group can be held accountable and punished to the total extent of the legislation. Nonetheless, a prolonged sentence on this case can not substitute for the tragic lack of the lifetime of this younger girl. Because of right now’s sentence, the Japanese District of Washington is safer and safer. I’m grateful for the dedication and perseverance of the FBI and the Yakama Nation Tribal Police, who labored carefully with Assistant United States Attorneys Ben Seal and Rick Burson to see this case via.”
“Life in jail isn’t a sentence we see usually” stated Richard A. Collodi, Particular Agent in Cost of the FBI’s Seattle subject workplace. “Whereas no sentence will undue the crimes perpetrated by Mr. Stevens, it should forestall him from victimizing anybody on the Yakama Reservation once more. I respect the work of our investigators and companions, who too usually have to reply to scenes of violence like this.”
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Yakama Nation Tribal Police, Washington State Freeway Patrol, the Klickitat County Sherriff’s Division, and the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Police Division. The case was prosecuted by Ben Seal and Rick Burson, Assistant United States Attorneys for the Japanese District of Washington.
1:19-cr-02038-SAB
