Tucson man gets 3 life sentences in tribal slaying
- Details
- Parent Category: News
- Category: Social Issues & Criminal Justice
- Published: 12 October 2010
Tucson, Arizona (AP) October 2010
A Tucson man has been sentenced to three life sentences in prison for a violent killing in the Gila River Indian Community.
Thirty-four-year-old Eugene Joseph Escalanti got his sentence last week in federal court after he was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Authorities say Escalanti was negotiating the sale of a recreational vehicle with a man last July 19 when he reportedly began assaulting the victim with a pair of pruning shears.
Prosecutors say Escalanti bound the victims hands, had a witness drive them to a remote area of the Gila River reservation and then beat the victim with a wrench and fatally slit his throat.
Escalanti is an enrolled member of the Quechan Indian Tribe.
A Tucson man has been sentenced to three life sentences in prison for a violent killing in the Gila River Indian Community.
Thirty-four-year-old Eugene Joseph Escalanti got his sentence last week in federal court after he was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Authorities say Escalanti was negotiating the sale of a recreational vehicle with a man last July 19 when he reportedly began assaulting the victim with a pair of pruning shears.
Prosecutors say Escalanti bound the victims hands, had a witness drive them to a remote area of the Gila River reservation and then beat the victim with a wrench and fatally slit his throat.
Escalanti is an enrolled member of the Quechan Indian Tribe.