Warm Springs Man Appears on Federal Indictment Charging Arson and Two Counts of First Degree Murder

PORTLAND—Jerome P. Spino, 30, of Warms Spring, Oregon, appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Papak on a federal indictment charging him with the crimes of arson and two counts of first degree murder on the Warm Spring Indian Reservation on May 28, 2008.  The defendant pled not guilty to all charges and the Judge scheduled the case for trial on May 5, 2009.  The Judge ordered the defendant detained in federal custody pending the May trial date.  The maximum penalty for the crime of arson and murder is life in prison.

The indictment alleges that defendant set fire to a residence and by doing so caused the death of two individuals in the home.  This case was investigated by Warm Spring Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kemp L. Strickland is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant should be presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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