After a two-week federal jury trial, Francisco Villanueva and Adan Corona, both of Denver, Colorado, were convicted of multiple crimes.
Villanueva, age 43, and Corona, age 35, were charged with First Degree Premeditated Murder, First Degree Felony Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Assault, Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and Possession of Ammunition by a Prohibited Person.
The conviction stems from the October 16, 2016, shooting death of Vincent Von Brewer III in front of the SuAnne Big Crow Center in Pine Ridge. Villanueva and Corona shot Brewer 15 times with an assault rifle and a 9mm handgun, as Brewer attempted to flee from the defendants.
Villanueva was previously convicted of murder in Colorado in the mid-1990s.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations, and the Denver and Aurora, Colorado, Police Departments. The investigation was also supported by numerous other state and federal law enforcement agencies.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Collins and Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case.
Both defendants face lifetime terms of imprisonment.
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