[Dryerase] Trial for one could decide fate of all ‘Carson City Ten’

[Asheville Global Report]

By Liz Allen

July 31 (AGR)— Rock Boice Jr. is scheduled to go to trial for the murder of 
Sammy Resendiz, co-founder of the Eastside Tokers, Aug. 26 in Carson City, 
Nevada at 1:30pm. His trial will be a deciding factor in the fates of the 
other Native American youth, known collectively as the Carson City Ten, all 
charged with first-degree murder in the case.
The youth were rounded up after Jessica Evans, also Native American, was 
battered by members of Resendiz’s gang. Evans immediately sought assistance 
from the police, who responded by threatening her with jail, then sending 
her home with friends. Police later claimed the jail was full so they 
declined to arrest Resendiz and stated Evans exhibited no signs of battering.
Relations of Evans, hearing of the incident, went to the hotel where it 
took place. A fight broke out and police arrived on the scene within 
minutes, but most who were involved had cleared out. Terry Boice, of the 
Nevada American Indian Movement (AIM), and Rock Boice Jr.’s mother, 
commented that the defendants “weren’t in the hotel room more than 30 
seconds and within three minutes the police arrived.”
Sammy Resendiz was taken by ambulance to Carson Tahoe Hospital to meet with 
CareFlight from Reno.
One of the officers on the scene reported seeing Resendez walk out of the 
bathroom. Police also reported Resendiz needed to be restrained. These 
statements contradict the forensic expert’s assertion that the injuries 
causing Resendiz’s death would have made walking an impossibility. Forensic 
reports also indicated that Resendiz’s body showed signs of death by 
strangulation, with the hyoid bone, located underneath the chin, being 
broken and the muscle bruised.
Originally there were fifteen defendants in the case, and after being 
thinned out to ten they faced the death penalty even though most were under 
eighteen, with the youngest being 14. The original court date of June 24, 
2002 was continued on the grounds of inadequate representation and the 
court-appointed defense attorney, who after four years with the case had 
yet to even prepare a witness list, was dismissed.
The new defense attorneys are Larry Leichter of San Francisco and Day 
Williams. James Cosner of Bay Area AIM, who is organizing people to attend 
the trail, believes the new counsel to be a “tremendously huge 
improvement
. It’s obvious that they [the court-appointed attorneys] had no 
intention of defending the youth.”
Terry Boice explained that with the new lawyers they are now finding out 
new relevant information practically every day.
They have discovered that the officer who sent Jessica Evans home was a 
victim of Resendiz prior to becoming a cop. The first officer on the scene 
at the hotel in 1998 was a witness for the victimized future police officer 
and had picked Resendez out of a line up. Also, according to Boice, 
Resendiz’s ex-wife’s parents were deputies and Resendiz had custody of her 
and his two children despite a record of multiple arrests for domestic and 
child abuse. Another factor to consider is the emergency room doctor, 
Richard Conte, who is currently accused in a high profile case of 
kidnapping his ex-wife and the murder of her current husband and his 
business partner.
Rocky Boice Jr.’s trial is key, because the judge maintains that if Boice 
is found innocent then the case of the others will be proven and their 
charges dropped.
The prosecution does not have any physical evidence linked to the victim or 
the defendants. They are being charged with first-degree murder because 
after two years of reviewing this case the State Supreme Court decided last 
May that when a death occurs in a burglary it could be considered 
first-degree murder. The burglary charge stems from the practice in Nevada 
wherein breaking into a “house” without permission is automatically 
considered burglary. The District Attorny (DA) has filed a motion not to 
seek the death penalty.
Terry Boice believes the situation to be a reflection of the rampant and 
hostile racism Native Americans incur in Carson City.
“It really hurts me that the reason the kids are in the trouble they are in 
is because they weren’t protected from the gang
 The sheriff just decided 
they weren’t worth it because they were born Native American.” She reports 
native youth are “terribly harassed” and threatened at school, not only by 
other students, but also by non-student gang members who come on campus.
The activists are asking for support in the form of monetary donations to 
their legal fund, having supporters attend the trial and demand that the 
facts be heard, as well as praying for indigenous families..