Justice Department Surge to Indian Country to Investigate Unresolved Violent Crimes Yields Results
Operation Not Forgotten Surged 64 FBI Personnel to 10 FBI Field Offices to Support Investigations of Indian Country Violent Crimes
Monday, November 24, 2025 - The Justice Department today announced results from its six-month surge of FBI assets across the country to address violent crime in Indian Country, including crimes relating to missing or murdered Indigenous persons.
The FBI sent 64 personnel, rotating in 30–90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period to support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. The FBI worked in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions. This operation was the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date.
“These dedicated efforts by FBI agents, together with the BIA and our tribal law enforcement partners, have solved crimes, protected victims of violence, and brought much needed safety and security to communities in Indian country,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “We will never forget the crime victims whose cases remain unsolved, and we will continue our pursuit until justice is served.”
“One of the biggest problems tribal communities face is the vast amount of land to account for, requiring significant resources to crush violent crime,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “As FBI Director, I’m committed to surging personnel to these areas and working hand-in-hand with Tribal partners. Operation Not Forgotten is a major step forward in giving these communities the justice that they deserve.”
FBI personnel were assisted by 36 personnel from the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit (BIA MMU). Combined, those personnel provided investigative and intelligence support by assisting in over 330 investigations. BIA MMU also provided technical support and expertise through ground-penetrating radar, underwater cameras, and sonar searches. Operation Not Forgotten contributed to the success of the FBI’s Indian Country program. In FY25 alone, the FBI’s Indian Country initiatives accomplished the following: 1260 individuals charged, 1123 arrests, 304 weapons recovered, and 458 child victims identified or located.
Some of those defendants charged by U.S. Attorney’s Offices include the following:
Three people were indicted on federal charges after a previously unsolved murder in New Mexico in 2020. Austin Begay, 31, was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Zachariah Shorty, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Two more suspects, Jaymes Fage, 38, and Joshua Watkins, 40, were also charged with crimes related to concealing the murder. (FBI Albuquerque/USAO District of New Mexico)
Renaldo Descheny, 43, is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence for his allegedly strangling and striking Jane Doe in the face with a firearm. He will remain in custody pending trial. (FBI Albuquerque/USAO District of New Mexico)
Armondo Paul, 25, was arrested after officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department responded to a stabbing at a Shiprock residence. Upon arrival, officers found the victim deceased with a neck wound believed to be from a bladed weapon. Paul is charged with second-degree murder and will remain in custody pending trial. (FBI Albuquerque/USAO District of New Mexico)
Keanu Lee, 33, was arrested after being charged with three counts of aggravated sexual abuse, one count of sexual abuse, one count of kidnapping, and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. (FBI-Albuquerque/District of New Mexico)
Additionally, the following are some examples of defendants convicted in relation to crimes investigated during this operation:
Marvin Albert Wauneka, 40, was sentenced to 40 months in prison for causing a high-speed drunk driving crash on the Navajo Nation that killed two passengers and seriously injured another. (FBI Albuquerque/USAO District of New Mexico)
Antoine Scott, 28, was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release. In June 2023, Scott approached a truck on the Warm Springs reservation and began punching the passenger through the window. The passenger suffered a head injury as well as a hand injury requiring stitches. Scott pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and prohibited possession of a firearm. (FBI Portland/USAO District of Oregon)
Indian Country faces persistent levels of violent crime and victimization. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.
Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts begun during President Trump’s first term under E.O. 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the third deployment under Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 760 cases in the past three years. Combined, these operations resulted in 249 arrests, 235 subjects charged, 109 subjects convicted, and services were provided to nearly 2,000 victims and victim family members.
Operation Not Forgotten also expands upon the resources deployed in recent years to address cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people. The effort will be supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which places attorneys and community coordinators in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered Indigenous people.
U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
Source: Justice.gov
