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Press Release

Fort Hall Man Indicted for Murder

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Idaho

POCATELLO – Joaquin Broncho, 18, of Fort Hall, Idaho, has been indicted in the August 29, 2014, stabbing death of Joey Runninghorse, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.

Broncho, also known as Joaquin Dancing Thunder Bluehorse, was indicted on a charge of second degree murder by the federal grand jury in Pocatello on July 28, 2015.  Broncho was arraigned today in U.S. District Court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mikel H. Williams where Broncho entered a not guilty plea, and the case was set for jury trial in Pocatello on September 21, 2015.

Broncho is alleged to have stabbed the victim Joey Runninghorse with a knife on the Shoshone Bannock Indian Reservation.  Broncho was previously charged as a juvenile in this case, but his case was transferred to adult court by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

Second degree murder is punishable by up to life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.

The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Fort Hall Police Department.

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity.  It is not evidence.  The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Updated February 4, 2016

Topic
Indian Country Law and Justice
Component