U.S. v. Bedonie
| Decision Date | 11 May 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 2:03-CR-00339 PGC.,No. 2:02-CR-00690-PGC.,2:02-CR-00690-PGC.,2:03-CR-00339 PGC. |
| Citation | 317 F.Supp.2d 1285 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Levangela BEDONIE, Defendant. United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Redd Rock Serawop, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Utah |
Kevin Sundwall, U.S. Attorney, Felice J. Viti, U.S. Attorney, Salt Lake City, UT, for Plaintiffs.
Kristen Angelos, Federal Defender, Fred Metos, Salt Lake City, UT, for Defendants.
The court has before it two tragic homicide cases presenting significant restitution issues. The court concludes that substantial restitution should be ordered in both cases, including restitution for the future income that the victims lost when they were killed by the defendants. In particular, the court orders defendant Bedonie to pay restitution for lost income of her victim — Mr. Brian Johnson — of $446,665 The court also orders defendant Serawop to pay restitution for lost income of his victim — Beyonce Serawop — of $325,751.
A brief outline of how the court reaches that conclusion may be useful at the outset. Part I of this opinion explains that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), which applies to crimes of violence, is applicable to the crimes of involuntary and voluntary manslaughter committed by defendants Bedonie and Serawop respectively. Part II concludes that the MVRA requires a restitution award in homicide cases for lost income of the victims, including income that they would have lost in the future. Part III reviews issues relating to the calculation of the award. The court appointed an expert to calculate lost income in this case, who made reasonable and reliable projections of future lost income. The most appropriate of those projections rely not on the race or sex of the victims, but rather on race- and sex-neutral data. Using these neutral projection, without any discount for possible "consumption" of income by the victims, is the appropriate way to calculate restitution. Each victim lost several hundred thousands of dollars in income, which the defendants should be required to repay. Part IV concludes that defendant Bedonie should also be ordered to pay restitution for the services of Navajo medicine man used by Mr. Johnson's family as part of the funeral services in this case. Part V determines that the restitution of the defendants is due immediately and to be paid on an appropriate schedule.
The factual and procedural background of the Bedonie and Serawop cases is as follows.
On the evening of April 19, 2002, defendant Levangela Bedonie and her boyfriend, Oscar Williams, stopped at the Ismay Trading Post and agreed to give a ride to the victim in this case — Brian Johnson — and two other men. As Ms. Bedonie drove toward Montezuma Creek on the Navajo Reservation, she drank beer offered to her by her boyfriend and frequently turned to face Johnson and the others in the back seat. Each of the three men repeatedly asked her to watch where she was driving. She told them she knew what she was doing.
Not too much farther down the road, Ms. Bedonie abruptly turned the steering wheel, causing the car to fishtail. Clearly under the influence of alcohol, she lost control, causing the car to skid off the road and roll about four times before coming to rest on its tires. Mr. Johnson was still in the vehicle, while the two other rear seat passengers got out and summoned help. A short time later, emergency medical technicians arrived at the scene of the accident, which was approximately 11 miles north of Aneth, Utah, on the Navajo Reservation. The technicians were unable to revive Mr. Johnson, whose skin was already cold to the touch when they arrived. An examination by the Utah State Department of Health Medical Examiner determined that Mr. Johnson died as a result of a blunt force injury to the head.
A bitter irony of this tragedy is that just prior to picking up Mr. Johnson and his friends, Ms. Bedonie had picked up Mr. Williams at the conclusion of a 90-day jail sentence for driving under the influence of alcohol.
On November 6, 2002, Ms. Bedonie, an enrolled member of the Navajo Indian Tribe, was charged in a one-count indictment with involuntary manslaughter within the Navajo Nation.1 She was arraigned on July 29, 2003, and pled guilty on October 10, 2003. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the government agreed to recommend credit for accepting responsibility and not to seek an upward departure from the sentencing guidelines.
A presentence report was then prepared, which found that the sentencing guideline range was 12 to 18 months. The report also suggested restitution for funeral expenses in the amount of $4,185. This sum had previously been paid by the Utah State Office of Crime Victims Reparations, so the report recommended repayment to the state office. The report also noted that Mr. Johnson's mother had requested reimbursement for $3,140 for the services of Navajo medicine man in connection with her son's burial. The defendant, through counsel, agreed to the restitution for direct funeral expenses, but objected to any restitution for the medicine man.
On January 21, 2004, Ms. Bedonie appeared before the court for sentencing. The court heard extensive allocution from Ms. Bedonie, Ms. Bedonie's mother, and Ms. Johnson, the victim's mother. Ms. Johnson explained why she had sought the services of the medicine man. She also explained how her son had provided critical financial support to her family before he was killed. Ms. Johnson testified 2 Ms. Johnson also talked about Mr. Johnson's aspirations to become an artist and presented beautiful examples of the sketches Mr. Johnson had drawn.
After hearing all of the evidence, the court ordered from the bench that defendant Bedonie was to serve 18 months in...
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