Thread: First defendant in Bunkerville standoff case to plead guilty

August 16, 2016 - 11:39am Updated August 16, 2016 - 5:08pm

First defendant in Bunkerville standoff case to plead guilty
'It's an extreme hardship'
Jerry DeLemus of New Hampshire has struck a plea deal to plead guilty for his role in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff. (Jason Patrick/YouTube)

By JEFF GERMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Gerald DeLemus, a politically active New Hampshire man, has become the first of 19 defendants to strike a plea deal in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff.

Federal prosecutors describe DeLemus, who has been in custody for more than five months, as a “gunman and midlevel organizer” in the Bundy family-led scheme to assault law enforcement officers who had rounded up Bundy cattle.

He is to enter a change of plea Aug. 23 before Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro.

In a court filing Tuesday, Navarro said she has received a signed guilty plea agreement from DeLemus, who was indicted on nine federal charges, including conspiracy.

Details of the agreement will not be made public until after he appears in court. But his Las Vegas lawyer, Brian Smith, said he is free to argue for a lesser sentence than the six years in prison prosecutors seek.

DeLemus, 61, co-chaired Veterans for Donald Trump in New Hampshire before his March arrest, and his wife is a Republican New Hampshire state representative.

Three other defendants in the Bunkerville standoff have pleaded guilty in the 41-day takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon that ended in February.

Montana militia leader Ryan Payne, Bundy family bodyguard Blaine Cooper and Arizona militia member Joseph O’Shaughnessy have been ordered transferred from Oregon to Nevada so they can negotiate deals here.

The three men are among the 19 defendants — including alleged Nevada standoff leader Cliven Bundy and four of his sons — facing federal charges in the Bunkerville confrontation. Prosecutors have described Payne, 32, as a leader in both armed standoffs.

The Nevada defendants are accused of conspiring to assault BLM agents and take back impounded Bundy cattle that had been grazing on federal land.

DeLemus, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, arrived in Nevada too late to participate in the alleged assault near the Bundy ranch on April 12, 2014, according to prosecutors.

But prosecutors alleged in court papers that he quickly became an “organizer of gunmen on the ground” at the ranch after the confrontation. The ranch is outside Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

DeLemus remained at the ranch for three weeks after the confrontation and was placed in charge of “Camp Liberty,” where armed militia members were housed, prosecutors alleged.

The government has several photos of a well-armed DeLemus in tactical gear at the Bundy Ranch.

Last week, a federal magistrate judge denied DeLemus’ latest bid for freedom, concluding he remained a danger to the community.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find @JGermanRJ on Twitter.

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Related Wildlife Refuge Standoff info:

Armed militia group attempting to overthrow the government

Posted August 19, 2016 - 12:30pm
Updated August 19, 2016 - 3:00pm

Second defendant in Bunkerville standoff case to plead guilty

A Bundy Ranch sign near Bunkerville greets visitors on Thursday, May 19, 2016. (Jeff Scheid/Las Vegas Review-Journal Follow @jlscheid)

Previous coverage
Full coverage of the feud between the Bundy family and the BLM


By JEFF GERMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

Another defendant in the Bunkerville standoff case involving the Bundy family is pleading guilty.

Blaine Cooper, a Bundy family bodyguard, is to change his plea before Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro on Aug. 25.

Navarro said in a court filing Friday that she has received a signed guilty plea agreement from Cooper, who is one of 19 defendants charged in the April 2014 armed confrontation with law enforcement. The agreement will be made public after Cooper appears in court.

Cooper, 37, of Arizona, is the second defendant to strike a plea deal in the case.

Gerald DeLemus, a politically active New Hampshire man, is to plead guilty before Navarro on Tuesday.

Federal prosecutors describe DeLemus as a “gunman and midlevel organizer” in the Bundy family-led scheme to assault law enforcement officers who had rounded up Bundy cattle.

DeLemus, 61, co-chaired Veterans for Donald Trump in New Hampshire before his March arrest, and his wife is a Republican New Hampshire state representative.

Federal prosecutors have alleged that Cooper, who is in federal custody, also was a “midlevel leader and organizer” of the Bunkerville standoff.

He is alleged to have recruited gunmen and followers to the Bundy ranch to confront law enforcement officers, gone on reconnaissance missions and provided protection for the Bundys and others involved in the conspiracy.

Last month, Cooper pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy charge stemming from the 41-day takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon that ended in February.

Two Bundy sons were among the leaders of the takeover.

Bunkerville standoff defendants Ryan Payne, a Montana militia leader, and Joseph O’Shaughnessy, an Arizona militia member, have also pleaded guilty in the Oregon case.

Both are said to be back in federal custody in Nevada negotiating plea deals here.

The 19 Nevada defendants — including alleged Bunkerville standoff leader Cliven Bundy and four of his sons — are accused of conspiring to assault BLM agents and take back impounded Bundy cattle that had been grazing on federal land.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find @JGermanRJ on Twitter.

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September 1, 2016 - 4:07pm

Third defendant Bunkerville standoff case reaches plea deal

Joseph O'Shaughnessy (Courtesy of Multnomah County Sherrif's Office)

By JEFF GERMAN
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

A third defendant has struck a plea deal in the Bunkerville standoff case involving the Bundy family.

Joseph O’Shaughnessy, 44, an Arizona militia member, has agreed to plead guilty before Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navaro on Wednesday, according to court records.

Navarro has indicated that she has a plea agreement signed by O’Shaughnessy, who earlier this year pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge stemming from the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon.

Prosecutors regard O’Shaughnessy as a midlevel organizer of the 2014 armed confrontation with law enforcement in Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Details of his agreement with the government will be made public after his court appearance next week. His Las Vegas lawyer, Andrea Luem, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

A total of 19 defendants, including Bundy patriarch Cliven Bundy and four of his sons, were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Bunkerville standoff. They were charged with conspiring to assault BLM agents on April 12, 2014, and taking back impounded Bundy cattle that had been grazing on federal land.

Two of the defendants — Gerald DeLemus, a politically active New Hampshire man, and Blaine Cooper, a Bundy family bodyguard who lives in Arizona — each pleaded guilty last week to two felony charges, including conspiracy.

Prosecutors recommended six-year prison terms for both men.

DeLemus arrived in Nevada too late to participate in the alleged assault on law enforcement near the Bundy ranch, but prosecutors alleged he became an “organizer of gunmen on the ground” afterward.

Cooper, described by prosecutors as a midlevel organizer in Bunkerville, also pleaded guilty in this year’s Oregon takeover, which allegedly was led by Bundy son Ammon Bundy.

Ammon Bundy and his brother Ryan Bundy are among eight defendants preparing to stand trial in Oregon next week. The two brothers also are charged in the Bunkerville case.

One defendant in both cases, Bundy bodyguard Brian Cavalier, pleaded guilty in Oregon but is not on track to do the same in Nevada.

His Las Vegas lawyer Mace Yampolsky said Thursday the six-year prison term prosecutors offered “wasn’t acceptable” and he is preparing for next year’s trial.

Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Follow @JGermanRJ on Twitter.

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