Two weeks ago I got called to an assignment over at the Combs apartments. The call came from the Follette family, who has gone through Hell this past year. They said that the FBI was going to come over there to tell them something about the case of one of their children who was murdered last year.
That day, the FBI told the family that the case was declined prosecution from the Feds, who are supposed to be in charge of prosecuting major crimes on the Fort Peck. Read what I wrote about their situation.
It didn't stop there. After that story came out, people across the rez were outraged. Seriously. There was this lynch mob mentality going around, everyone wanted to see the people who murdered AJ brought to justice.
In the story, I quoted the media lady who worked for the U.S. Attorney's office and she said that when they decline to prosecute a case it's because the case that was presented to them didn't show proof of what was being alleged.
In other words, it all falls back on the Tribal Criminal Investigators. They are supposed to put the case together for the prosecutors. It's just like on Law and Order: The cops get a report of a crime; they investigate and find out who is responsible; then after they have gathered all the facts, evidence, testimony, and witnesses, they put it in a package and submit it to the District Attorney, who will then press the charges and take the party to court based on the evidence.
That didn't happen here. The CI's told the family that the boy was killed in self defense.
A small part of that firestorm that came out of that story was directed at me and the Fort Peck Journal. People went on a smear campaign against me, my editor and the paper as a whole. They were desperately trying to discredit me, but the story already was printed. It was all true, but some of these people here don't like reality or the truth.
Then like clockwork, the same story came out, just rehashed by a different writer.
The Great Falls Tribune printed a story about the Follette family, particularly the Feds denying to prosecute AJ's murder. This is the Great Falls Tribune story.
The writer, one of our old writers, called and told me that the morning that story hit the shelves and was posted online, he and his editors were getting phone calls from the U.S. Attorneys Office, the FBI, and others. They must have thought that the case was just going to be forgotten and swept under the rug like so many of the cases they handle here.
I hear people saying that they're frustrated with the CI's and the FBI because they don't care about solving crimes where people have been hurt and murdered.
Here's a thing about the CI's. They solve burglary cases and property crimes, but in crimes against people they drag their feet. They're also politically controlled; the Chairman dictates everything they do and they won't stand up to him.
Where's my proof? They took a young man into custody for calling the Chairman and making a threat. That charge is called protection of the TEB, which carries a year sentence.
They found him so fast and had him locked up and jailed, and the courts are screwing that poor kid over big time. Took them one day to solve that. But when AJ was murdered they had witnesses, evidence, basically everything they needed to solve the crime right there. It's almost a year later, and they have yet to arrest anyone related to that case.
Why do they do that? Why are they covering up for these murderers? It's very disturbing to know that someone in my family can be murdered and they won't be avenged in court because the CI's won't take the case seriously.
But since we did the stories, we moved that murder to the front burner for everyone. Now the authorities are snapping to. I pray they do what is right.
