Jeremy and Tyler Reece were arraigned by telephone this morning in the Osage Nation Trial Court chambers.
Originally scheduled for July 28, the hearing was brief and the judge pushed the arraignment back to Sept. 29 at 10 a.m.
Assistant Attorney General Jeff Jones told the Tulsa World they wanted to push the arraignment back to see what the state decides to do in the case. The brothers will go before Osage County Associate District Judge Stuart Tate on Sept. 23 at 1 p.m.
The brothers are charged by the Osage Nation with first-degree homicide for the slaying of Pawhuska resident Rick Holt.
Jeremy Reece, 31, and Tyler Reece, 19, are members of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Since they are Native American and Holt’s death allegedly occurred on restricted Indian land, the brothers fall under the Nation’s jurisdiction, according to the Major Crimes Act.
Federal law prohibits tribes from imprisoning individuals for more than three years, according to the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2013, and limits tribal courts to misdemeanor charges in criminal cases. Osage Nation law permits up to one year of jail time.
If convicted in ON trial court, the brothers could face up to a year in jail, a $5,000 fine or 20 years’ banishment from Osage Nation tribal lands.
The $1 million cash bond remains in effect for each of the brothers.
By
Osage News
Original Publish Date: 2016-08-04 00:00:00