Member of Arizona tribe found guilty of murder, conspiracy in federal case

PHOENIX — A jury recently found a 47-year-old Arizona man guilty of first-degree murder and other charges dating back to a crime that took place in 2020, authorities said.

Clifton Nez Hamalowa was also found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon, discharging a firearm to further a crime of violence, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and conspiring to commit assault resulting in serious bodily injury, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Hamalowa, who is from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, received his guilty verdict last Wednesday. A seven-day jury trial preceded the decision.

Why jury reached guilty verdict for Salt River man accused of murder

Hamalowa murdered his victim on Aug. 29, 2020, prosecutors said. He had become angry with the victim the evening before. He committed the murder by shooting his victim multiple times in the head.

Prosecutors said he dumped the victim’s body in a remote area of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation.

While he hid the body, his brother and sister worked to cover up his cracks and hide the evidence.

His brother, Thomas Leon Hamalowa, disposed of the victim’s car in Parker, which is around 30 miles south of Lake Havasu City. He pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact and was sentenced to nine years in prison on Oct. 23, 2023.

While her brothers were hiding evidence, Devonne Beth Hamalowa made her daughter clean the blood from the crime scene, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors: Man convicted of murder, his sister intimidated witnesses

Hamalowa and his sister spent the next two weeks intimidating witnesses into silence.

During this time, the victim’s minor child was still living in the victim’s home, prosecutors said.

One of the witnesses alerted the Gila River Police Department of the situation, requesting that officers rescue the child.

Halamowa’s sister pleaded guilty to being an accessory to murder after the fact and was sentenced to 84 months in prison on April 1, 2024.

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