Court Cases: Diné woman sentenced 5 years for child’s death

LOS ANGELES

A decision to leave her two young children near a water tank after her car broke down has resulted in a Shiprock woman being sentenced in federal court to five years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

The actions of Tonya Mae Dale, 29, in June of 2019, to leave her two children while she went for help was the subject of a great deal of media attention both in this area and statewide.

This was because when she came back to pick up her children, one of them, a young boy, had wandered away and after a massive search was found dead the next day.

Between the time of her arrest by federal authorities and her decision to plead guilty to one count of involuntary manslaughter, Dale had shown remorse for her actions on that day and for a lifelong addiction to drugs and alcohol that led her to make the tragic decision to abandon her children near that water tank.

“An accident like this tragedy does not happen in a single day,” said her federal defense attorney, James Loonam, in asking for a lenient sentence. “This decision was years in the making.”

In her plea agreement, Dale said on the night of June 26, 2019, she put her two children, one a toddler son and the other a baby, in her car to go on a drive even though she admitted that she was intoxicated and on drugs. She said she also knew that her car had transmission problems.

Because of the drugs and alcohol, she said, she took a wrong turn on a dirt road where she soon found her car to be high centered and stuck. The area was so remote she was not able to use her cell phone so she decided to sleep in the car with her children until morning.

“I had to carry my baby and had my other young child walk,” she said in her plea agreement. “After walking for some time, I thought I should go on alone to find help. I left my two children by an empty water tank and left to get help.”

A little while later, she found residents who lived in the area and they called for Navajo Police to take her back where her children were. When they got there, however, they found only the baby who was unharmed.

Loonam, in his presentation to the court, said the reasons why Dale made the choices she did on that day were rooted in her earlier life.

“This case arises out of a terrible choice made by Ms. Dale and the socioeconomic and development of the community in which that choice was made,” he said, adding that she grew up in a home with no father and a mother who spoke only Navajo, which Dale did not understand.

Raised partly by her grandmother and sister, Dale would eventually ask to be sent to a boarding school to get away from her mother.

At the age of 17, she became pregnant by one of her brother’s friends.

She had hoped to forge a relationship with this person but instead, she found herself in an abusive situation.

“At one point, this person held her captive for several days,” Loonam said. During this time, she was beaten in a regular basis, he said.

More tragedy occurred when during this time her brother, Bryan, who she was very fond of, killed himself in front of the family home. This led to her decision to “stop caring” and increase her abuse of drugs.

She then entered into another relationship on which she and the children were often kicked out of their home overnight. At one point, he burned all of her clothes.

After her arrest, she was allowed out of custody on the condition she no longer abuse alcohol or drugs.

“Tonya has stated that being drug-free has finally allowed her to grieve her son without using his death as an excuse to do drugs,” Loonam said.

The judge ordered that after her release, she would be under supervision for two years. She would also be required to take mental health treatment and outpatient substance abuse treatment.

Teec Nos Pos man pleads guilty in sexual abuse of minor

A Teec Nos Pos, Arizona, man has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to aggravated sexual abuse of a minor.

Jeremiah Elijah Jim, 31, had entered a plea of guilty to the charge back in April.

Also arrested in connection with this crime was Bryan Bull, who also pleaded guilty last August but as yet not been sentenced.

In his plea agreement Jim admitted to touching the victim inappropriately on June 3, 2019, and then sexually assaulted him. At the time of the crime, the accused was under the age of 16.

Since he accepted responsibly for his actions and showed remorse, the prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence range of from 14 to 24 years.

In his sentencing memorandum to the judge, Jim argued for a 14-year sentence, saying he felt the agreement was fair and that he realized he had committed “an incredibly serious offense that has caused profound harm to the victim.”

He added that he realized he needed counseling and therapy during incarceration. He said he also understands that lifetime supervision “will be intrusive and arduous, but necessary.”

In its memorandum on the sentencing, the federal prosecutors said that while Bull was a co-defendant in this case, Jim was the “lead offender.”

The prosecutors said the victim told his mother that he had been “raped the night before by the two men” at the Pentecostal Church in Shiprock. His mother immediately took him to the local hospital and called Navajo police.

According to the memo, he had gone to the church the night before without telling his parents. He said he had never known Jim or Bull before but he knew their first names.

He had brought a tent with him to sleep overnight. When he woke up, Jim and Bull were touching him.

At that point, he said, Jim pulled out a pocketknife and placed it next to his neck. Jim then reportedly told the boy “Let’s keep this between us or we’ll hurt you.”

He added that at one point during the assault, he vomited.”

Both Jim and Bull, after their arrest, agreed to waive their rights and be interviewed. They stated initially that nothing of a sexual nature occurred but after further questioning admitted that there was sexual activity.

Jim denied making any threat and eventually said the sex was consensual.

Diné man indicted on numerous felony charges

Darrell Shane Bahe, a resident of the Arizona portion of the Navajo Nation, was indicted last week on numerous felony charges dealing with the sexual assault of a minor.

He faces two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor.

According to the indictment, the accuser is a female between the ages of 12 and 16. The crimes reportedly occurred n November and December 2020.

Bahe is currently in the custody of the U. S. Marshall’s Office in Prescott. No date has been set for his arraignment.

---