Zuni Pueblo Man Sentenced to 63 Months for Federal Manslaughter Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning a federal judge in Santa Fe, New Mexico, sentenced Cameron Kalestewa, 21, a member of Zuni Pueblo, to 63 months in prison for his voluntary manslaughter conviction.

Kalestewa will be on supervised release for two years after completing his prison sentence. He also was ordered to pay $1929.77 in restitution to his victim’s grandmother to cover the victim’s funeral costs and the cost of grief counseling for the grandmother. Kalestewa also was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to the New Mexico Crimes Victims Reparation Commission.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Kalestewa was charged with killing Michael Lalio, a 23-year-old Zuni Pueblo man, during an altercation that took place in Zuni Pueblo on November 17, 2010. Kalestewa was arrested on December 2, 2010, and has been in federal custody since that time. On January 13, 2011, Kalestewa was indicted and charged with second-degree murder.

According to court records, Kalestewa and Lalio were involved in an physical altercation, on November 17, 2010, during which Kalestewa stabbed Lalio in the torso. Lalio died shortly thereafter as a result of the injuries he sustained. Kalestewa pled guilty to an information charging him with voluntary manslaughter on August 31, 2011, and admitted killing Lalio.

The court dismissed the indictment against Kalestewa after imposing sentence on him.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Zuni Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.