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Mescalero Apache Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Voluntary Manslaughter Charge

  Jerrick Blake, 22, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Las Cruces, N.M., to a voluntary manslaughter charge.

   According to court filings, Blake killed the victim on the afternoon of Nov. 3, 2014, by stabbing him in the chest with a knife.  The crime occurred during an argument between Blake and the victim on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in Otero County, N.M.

   During today’s proceedings, Blake pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter.  In entering his guilty plea, Blake admitted killing the victim by stabbing him in the chest during a sudden quarrel.

   At sentencing, Blake faces a statutory maximum penalty of 15 years in prison followed by at least three years of supervised release.  Blake has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending a sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled. 

This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Mescalero Apache Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

Information from Department of Justice