Window Rock Man Pleads Guilty to Second Degree Murder
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 21, 2009 |
PHOENIX—Lee White, 53, of Window Rock, Arizona and a member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to Second Degree Murder for killing a 51-year-old member of the Navajo Nation.
On January 2, 2009, White borrowed a .22 rifle from another individual and confronted the victim in the parking lot at the victim’s work place. White got into the victim’s car and after the victim drove a short distance, White argued with the victim and fired the .22 rifle three times, hitting the victim twice in the head and once in the chest. The victim died of gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
A conviction for Second Degree Murder carries a maximum sentence of life in federal prison and five years of supervised release. Sentencing is set for March 1, 2010, in front of U.S. District Judge Neil V. Wake.
The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Window Rock Police Department, and the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement - Criminal Investigations. The prosecution was handled by Christina J. Reid-Moore, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-09-8013-PCT-NVW
RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-395 (White)