SPOKANE, Wash. — A man convicted of 2nd-degree murder on the Colville Indian Reservation in 2022 was sentenced to 17 years in prison.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Washington, 38-year-old Steven Zacherle got into an argument with his intimate partner near a gas station in Indian Country on October 18, 2022.
Court documents showed his partner drove away without Zacherle after he went inside the store.
Once Zacherle realized he had been ditched, Omak and Colville Tribe Police said he started calling and texting her, demanding she return or he would “kill” and “hurt people.”
Police said Zacherle took the opportunity to carry out his threats on Dion Boyd, an elder with the Colville Tribe who happened to be leaving the gas station.
Police said he bragged to his partner that he had knocked someone out after attacking Boyd, hitting him in the head.
Zacherle’s partner told police she could hear garbled breathing and snorting through the phone.
Boyd was found by first responders face down and unresponsive.
His family get vigil by his hospital bedside for 20 days, hoping for a miracle, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, by Boyd died as a result of a severe brain hematoma and cracked skull.
“My heart goes out to the Boyd family, who have suffered so much pain as a result of Mr. Zacherle’s unprovoked attack,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Richard R. Barker. “My office is fully committed to working federal, state, local, and Tribal leaders to fully prosecuting violent crimes on Tribal land. The victims and survivors of these terrible crimes deserve nothing less.”
At sentencing, MMIP AUSA Bree Black Horse explained:
“Mr. Boyd’s family and friends have uniformly described Mr. Boyd as a kind, generous person who helped raise his younger siblings and later his own children. Mr. Boyd also served his Tribe as an IT technician, ensuring Colville Tribal members living in rural areas could have cell service.”
“This appalling attack was truly senseless.” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Mr. Zacherle displayed a shocking disregard for the value of human life when he took his frustrations out on an innocent bystander, recklessly costing that person his life. The Colville Indian Reservation is a safer place with him off the streets.”
In addition to the 17-year prison sentence, United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed five years of supervised release on Zacherle, and restitution payable to the Colville Confederate Tribes for Boyd’s funeral expenses.
The FBI assisted in the investigation.
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