Five years after a Navajo elder vanished, the man who robbed her was released from prison
Trending
EDGEWOOD, N.M. (AP) -- Five years to the day that Navajo elder Ella Mae Begay disappeared from her home in a remote corner of Arizona, the man who acknowledged beating her, stealing her truck and leaving her on the roadside is free from prison.
Preston Tolth pleaded guilty to robbing Begay and was sentenced on May 8 to five years in prison with credit for three years already served. He was released Monday, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Begay's relatives, who expected Tolth to remain in custody until at least 2028, said they were shocked when they heard Monday. The eldest of her three children, Gerald Begay, learned of Tolth's release while wrapping up his workday on a construction site and reflecting on the somber anniversary of his mother's still-unsolved disappearance.
"This is just another slap in the face," Begay said.
Begay, a prolific weaver of Navajo-style rugs and a grandmother of nine, was 62 when she disappeared from Sweetwater on the Navajo Nation. Family and community members searched for her, pressured law enforcement for action and drew national media attention to the case that's been symbolic of the crisis of violence against Indigenous people.
Scott Taylor, a spokesperson for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, said Tolth received credit for good conduct while incarcerated and under a statute that counts time served after the commission of a crime but before sentencing, including on unrelated charges.
"The release was calculated in full accordance with federal sentencing law and Bureau of Prisons policy," Taylor said Thursday.
According to New Mexico court records, Tolth was incarcerated while facing multiple state charges between the time he robbed Begay on June 15, 2021, and his April 2023 arrest. Those separate charges ultimately were dismissed.
The U.S. Attorney's Office in Arizona and a public defender who represented Tolth confirmed the conditions of release but otherwise declined comment.
Mark Osler, an expert on sentencing at the University of St. Thomas, said the Federal Bureau of Prisons routinely shortens sentences to reduce overcrowding and recidivism. The bureau has no obligation to notify victims and their families of releases.
"What's unfortunate here is the lack of communication," Osler said. "These are people that have been hurt and society owes more to them."