Kinlichee Man Sentenced

PHOENIX Nelson John Begay, 28, of Kinlichee, Arizona, was sentenced in Phoenix to fourteen years, by U.S. District Judge Earl H. Carroll. Nelson Begay had previously pleaded guilty to kidnaping. Begay asked the female juvenile victim if she needed a ride near Fort Defiance, Arizona. The juvenile female got into Begay's car and the two rode around together for a while. Begay eventually took her back to his house. Once at the house, Begay hit the victim in the back of the head with a wooden axe handle. He then tied her hands behind her back and forced her to walk toward a ditch approximately 1/4 mile from his house. During this time the victim was crying and repeatedly asked Begay to let her go. When they arrived at the ditch he tied her hands and her feet together. He then left her in the ditch and went back to his house. The victim was eventually able to get free of her restraints and flagged down a passing car. She was treated for blunt force trauma to her head and it took seventeen staples to close the laceration. The investigation was conducted by the FBI and the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement. The prosecution was handled by Kimberly M. Hare, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Phoenix.