Fort Hall man pleads guilty to theft from tribe - East Idaho News
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Fort Hall man pleads guilty to theft from tribe

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POCATELLO — A Fort Hall man plead guilty to theft from a tribal organization in U.S. District Court Tuesday.

Demetrius Anthony Gomez, 28, had previously been indicted by a federal grand jury on May, 28 2014.

A district court news release shows the theft occurred April 2, 2014, at the Sage Hill Travel Center, a gas station, convenience store and casino on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, near Exit 89 on Interstate 15.

Gomez, an off-duty employee of Sage Hill Travel Center entered the store at 3:50 a.m. The defendant told his fellow employee at the front desk that he was checking the schedule. The defendant proceeded to the rear office and a few minutes later walked out and exited the store. The fellow employee became suspicious of the defendant and checked the back room. He reviewed the surveillance recording of the room and saw the defendant had removed money from a safe in the room.

A review of the surveillance recording in the front part of the store later showed the defendant re-entered the store while the fellow employee was checking the back office. The defendant then removed additional money from a box under the cash register. An audit showed $1,984.00 missing. The money belongs to the Sage Hill Travel Center, which is an Indian tribal organization of the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Tribes.

Theft from a tribal organization is punishable by imprisonment up to five years, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for May 12, 2015, before U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge.

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