Home Minneapolis Press Releases 2011 Redby Woman Indicted for Accessory to Murder in Red Lake Case
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Redby Woman Indicted for Accessory to Murder in Red Lake Case

U.S. Attorney’s Office March 16, 2011
  • District of Minnesota (612) 664-5600

Recently, in federal court in the District of Minnesota, an indictment was filed that charges a young woman from the town of Redby, located on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, with a crime connected to the November 3, 2010, murder of one man and the wounding of two others. Jerilee Jane Head, age 21, was specifically charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact. The indictment, which was filed under seal on March 8, 2011, was unsealed following Head’s initial appearance yesterday in federal court in Bemidji. She was arrested by the FBI on March 14, 2011.

The indictment alleges that on January 15, 2011, Head assisted Donald Leigh Clark, Jr., in his attempt to allude authorities. Clark was hiding from law enforcement after being charged with the November 3, 2010, murder of Julian Keith DeMarrias on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. Clark was ultimately found hiding under a blanket in the back seat of Head’s vehicle, after Head tried but failed to lure federal agents away from the car.

If convicted, Head faces a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison federal. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

Also on March 8, a superseding indictment was filed against Clark, age 22, and Cruze Anthony White, age 22, both of Redby, adding a single count of first-degree murder to the charges previously filed against them. On January 19, 2011, both men were originally indicted on one count of second-degree murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. The first-degree murder charge alleges that the defendants premeditated the act.

Allegedly, on November 3, 2010, the defendants killed Julian Keith DeMarrias and assaulted DeMarrias’s brother and another man. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department responded to a reported shooting and found the three adult men in and around a vehicle, all with gunshot wounds. They were taken to Indian Health Services, the reservation’s clinic, where Julian DeMarrias was pronounced dead.

Law enforcement officers reported that the three men met Clark and White outside a reservation store. The men allegedly exited their vehicle, at which time Clark and White exited their own vehicle, armed with assault rifles, and began shooting. One victim was shot three times, while a second was shot six times. At the scene, police allegedly found 11 7.62 millimeter shell casings along with five expended shells from a 12-gauge shotgun.

According to a police report, on October 15, 2010, Clark and White pointed a sawed-off shotgun at DeMarrias’ sister, inquiring about the whereabouts of DeMarrias’ brothers. On November 10, 2010, one week after the shooting, police found Clark’s vehicle abandoned in an old graveyard in Redby. While Clark was apprehended on January 15, 2011, White surrendered himself to authorities on January 24, 2011.

If convicted, Clark and White face a potential maximum penalty of life in prison on each murder charge, 20 years on each count of assault with intent to commit murder, 10 years on the charge of assault with a dangerous weapon, and a 10-year consecutive sentence on the charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge.

These cases are the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, with assistance from the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force, and the U.S. Marshals Service. They are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.

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