Zuni Man Charged Federally With Kidnapping, Sexual Assault After Luring Victim

Federal prosecutors charged Barton Rico Cooeyate, 41, of Zuni Pueblo with kidnapping by inveiglement Monday after investigators say he offered a woman a ride in Zuni on March 23, drove her roughly 15 miles to an abandoned rural property on the Pueblo of Zuni in McKinley County, and sexually assaulted her there.

The victim escaped the property and hid. A Zuni Pueblo Tribal Ranger conducting an unrelated DWI stop of Cooeyate's vehicle later connected investigators to her location. Federal records document a contusion to her left forearm among the injuries she sustained.

Kidnapping by inveiglement is a federal charge that describes luring a victim through false promises or deceit, in this case the offer of a ride. If convicted on the most serious counts, Cooeyate faces life imprisonment. He is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Zuni.

Because the alleged crime occurred on tribal land, the case falls under federal jurisdiction. The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office led the investigation, with the Zuni Police Department and the Zuni Fish and Wildlife Department assisting on the ground. That structure is how violent crimes on tribal lands typically move: tribal officers and local police secure the scene and the suspect, while the FBI and federal prosecutors build and file the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting.

Cooeyate is held at La Pasada Halfway House in Albuquerque pending a trial or preliminary hearing. The complaint is an allegation; he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in federal court.

Anyone with information related to the case can submit a tip to the FBI's Gallup Resident Agency or online at tips.fbi.gov.

Survivors of sexual assault in McKinley County and Zuni Pueblo can reach Sexual Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico's Gallup office at (505) 399-5940. The 24-hour crisis line is 1-866-908-4700. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner forensic exams are conducted at Gallup Indian Medical Center; call the GIMC emergency room at (505) 722-1000 and ask to be transferred to the ER.