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ELIZABETH A. STRANGE 

First Assistant United States Attome 

District of Arizona 

DIMITRA H. SAMPSON 

Assistant U.S. Attorney 

Arizona State Bar No. 019133 

Two Renaissance Square 

40 N. Central Ave., Suite 1800 

Phoenix, Arizona 85004 

Telephon_e: _602-514-7500 . Email: D1m1tra.sampson@usdoJ.gov 

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

FILED ~LODGED r\--:\,C"7..,;;.. ___ _,.;. __ -1-, 

RECEIVED COPY FILED _ 1.00GEtJ 

RECEIVED _ OOPY 

MAR O 6 2019 

CLERK U S DISTRICT COURT 

Dl§TRICT OF ARIZONA 

BY S: M, ~\,,- DEPU 

AUG O 5 2019 

CLERK U S DISTRICT COUflT 

DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

Y DEPUlY 

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

United States of America, 

Plaintiff, 

vs. 

Jeremiah Phillips, 

Defendant. 

CR-18-08039-PCT-DGC (JZB) 

PLEA AGREEMENT 

Plaintiff, United States of America, and the defendant, Jeremiah Phillips, hereby 

agree to dispose of this matter on the following terms and conditions: 

1. PLEA 

The defendant will plead to Count 7 of the Indictment, Abusive Sexual Contact with 

a Minor, in violation of Title 18 United States Code (U.S.C.) §§ 1153, 2244(a)(3), and 

2246(3 ), a Class E felony offense. 

2. MAXIMUM PENALTIES 

a. A violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2244(a)(3) and 2246(3), is punishable by a 

maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of imprisonment of 2 years, or both, and a 

term of supervised release of no less than five years and up to life. 

b. According to the Sentencing Guidelines issued pursuant to the Sentencing 

Refonn Act of 1984, the Court shall order the defendant to: 

Case 3:18-cr-08039-DGC Document 51 Filed 08/05/19 Page 1 of 11
1 (1) make restitution to any victim of the offense pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 

2 § 3663 and/or 3663A, unless the Court determines that restitution would not be 

3 appropriate; 

4 (2) pay a fine pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3572, unless the Court finds that a 

5 fine is not appropriate; 

6 (3) serve a tenn of supervised release when required by statute or when a 

7 sentence of imprisonment of more than one year is imposed (with the understanding that 

8 the Court may impose a term of supervised release in all other cases); and 

9 (4) pay upon conviction a $100 special assessment for each count to 

10 which the defendant pleads guilty pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3013. 

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C. The Court is required to consider the Sentencing Guidelines in determining 

the defendant's sentence. However, the Sentencing Guidelines are advisory, and the Court 

is free to exercise its discretion to impose any reasonable sentence up to the maximum set 

by statute for the crime(s) of conviction, unless there are stipulations to the contrary that 

the Court accepts. 

3. AGREEMENTS REGARDING SENTENCING 

a. Stipulation. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. l l(c)(l)(C), the United States and 

the defendant stipulate that the defendant shall be sentenced to a term of imprisom11ent to 

be determined by the court, followed by not less than 25 years and up to lifetime supervised 

release. 

b. Stipulation. Sex Offender Conditions. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. 

ll(c)(l)(C), the United States and the defendant stipulate, a11d the defendant agrees to the 

following sex offender conditions during the term of supervised release: within three days 

from release from prison, the defendant shall register as a sex offender in accordance with 

tribal, state, and federal law in any jurisdiction in which he resides, is employed, or is a 

student, and will provide the supervising probation officer with verification of registration. 

During the term of supervised release, the defendant shall undergo sex offender treatment 

and counseling as directed by the probation department and as ordered by the Court. Such 

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treatment may include physiological testing, including clinical polygraph testing. If the 

probation department and the court, in detennining the most appropriate sentence, deem it 

appropriate, the defendant shall submit to a presentence sex offender evaluation pursuant 

to 18 U.S.C. § 3552(b). Such sex offender evaluation shall be conducted under the 

standardized conditions set forth by the examiner. The defendant's attorney shall not be 

present during any part of the examination unless otherwise authorized by the examiner in 

advance of said evaluation or at otherwise agreed upon by the parties in writing. The 

parties agree that any statements made in connection with the examination shall not be used 

in the instant prosecution or in any subsequent federal prosecution of the defendant in the 

District of Arizona. As a condition of supervised release, the defendant shall cooperate in 

the collection of a DNA sample as authorized in 18 U.S.C. § 3583(d). 

c. Restitution. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3663 and/or 3663A, the defendant 

specifically agrees to pay full restitution, regardless of the resulting loss amount but in no 

event more than $300,000, to all victims directly or proximately harmed by the defendant's 

"relevant conduct," including conduct pertaining to any dismissed counts or uncharged 

conduct, as defined by U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3, regardless of whether such conduct constitutes 

an "offense" under 18 U.S.C. §§ 2259, 3663 or 3663A. The defendant understands that 

such restitution will be included in the Court's Order of Judgment and that an unanticipated 

restitution amount will not serve as grounds to withdraw the defendant's guilty plea or to 

20 withdraw from this plea agreement. 

21 d. Assets and Financial Responsibility. The defendant shall make a full 

22 accounting of all assets in which the defendant has any legal or equitable interest. The 

23 defendant shall not ( and shall not aid or abet any other party to) sell, hide, waste, spend, or 

24 transfer any such assets or property before sentencing, without the prior approval of the 

25 United States (provided, however, that no prior approval will be required for routine, day26 to-day expenditures). The defendant also expressly authorizes the United States Attorney's 

27 Office to immediately obtain a credit report as to the defendant in order to evaluate the 

28 defendant's ability to satisfy any financial obligation imposed by the Court. 

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I The defendant also shall make full disclosure of all current and projected assets to 

2 the U.S. Probation Office immediately and prior to the termination of the defendant's 

3 supervised release or probation, such disclosures to be shared with the U.S. Attorney's 

4 Office, including the Financial Litigation Unit, for any purpose. Finally, the defendant 

5 shall participate in the Inmate Financial Responsibility Program to fulfill all financial 

6 obligations due and owing under this agreement and the law. 

7 If the defendant is a member of a Native American tribe that provides "per capita" 

8 payments to its members, the defendant agrees that any such "per capita" payment shall be 

9 paid over to the Clerk of the Court and applied to the defendant's restitution obligation 

IO until restitution to all victims is paid in full. 

11 e. Acceptance of Responsibility. If the defendant makes full and complete 

12 disclosure to the U.S. Probation Office of the circumstances surrounding the defendant's 

13 commission of the offense, and if the defendant demonstrates an acceptance of 

14 responsibility for this offense up to and including the time of sentencing, the United States 

15 will reconunend a two-level reduction in the applicable Sentencing Guidelines offense 

16 level pursuant to U.S.S.G.§ 3El.l(a). If the defendant has an offense level of 16 or more, 

17 the United States will move for an additional one-level reduction in the applicable 

18 Sentencing Guidelines offense level pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(b). 

19 f. Non-Binding Reconunendations. The defendant understands that 

20 recommendations are not binding on the Court. The defendant further understands that the 

21 defendant will not be pennitted to withdraw the guilty plea if the Court does not follow a 

22 recommendation. 

23 4. AGREEMENT TO DISMISS OR NOT TO PROSECUTE 

24 a. Pursuant to Fed. R. Crim. P. l l(c)(l)(C), the govermnent agrees to dismiss 

25 Counts 1 through 6 of the Indictment at time of sentencing. The United States further 

26 agrees not to file additional charges arising out of the discovery materials in this case. 

27 b. This agreement does not, in any manner, restrict the actions of the United 

28 States in any other district or bind any other United States Attorney's Office. 

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I 5. COURT APPROVAL REQUIRED; REINSTITUTION OF PROSECUTION 

2 a. If the Court, after reviewing this plea agreement, concludes that any 

3 provision contained herein is inappropriate, it may reject the plea agreement and give the 

4 defendant the opportunity to withdraw the guilty plea in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 

5 ll(c)(5). 

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b. If the defendant's guilty plea or plea agreement is rejected, withdrawn, 

vacated, or reversed at any time, this agreement shall be null and void, the United States 

shall be free to prosecute the defendant for all crimes of which it then has knowledge and 

any charges that have been dismissed because of this plea agreement shall automatically 

be reinstated. In such event, the defendant waives any and all objections, motions, and 

defenses based upon the Statute of Limitations, the Speedy Trial Act, or constitutional 

restrictions in bringing later charges or proceedings. The defendant understands that any 

statements made at the time of the defendant's change of plea or sentencing may be used 

against the defendant in any subsequent hearing, trial, or proceeding subject to the 

limitations of Fed. R. Evid. 410. 

6. WAIVER OF DEFENSES AND APPEAL RIGHTS 

The defendant waives (1) any and all motions, defenses, probable cause 

determinations, and objections that the defendant could assert to the indictment or 

information; and (2) any right to file an appeal, any collateral attack, and any other writ or 

motion that challenges the conviction, an order of restitution or forfeiture, the entry of 

judgment against the defendant, or any aspect of the defendant's sentence, including the 

manner in which the sentence is determined, including but not limited to any appeals under 

18 U.S.C. § 3742 (sentencing appeals) and motions under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2241 and 2255 

(habeas petitions), and any right to file a motion for modification of sentence, including 

under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). This waiver shall result in the dismissal of any appeal, 

collateral attack, or other motion the defendant might file challenging the conviction, order 

of restitution or forfeiture, or sentence in this case. This waiver shall not be construed to 

bar an otherwise-preserved claim of ineffective assistance of counsel or of "prosecutorial 

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1 misconduct" (as that tennis defined by Section II.B of Ariz. Ethics Op. 15-01 (2015)). 

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a. The United States retains the unrestricted right to provide information and 

make any and all statements it deems appropriate to the U.S. Probation Office and to the 

Court in connection with the case. 

b. Any information, statements, documents, and evidence that the defendant 

provides to the United States pursuant to this agreement may be used against the defendant 

at any time. 

C. The defendant shall cooperate fully with the U.S. Probation Office. Such 

10 cooperation shall include providing complete and truthful responses to questions posed by 

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criminal convictions, history of drug abuse, and mental illness; and 

financial information, including present financial assets or liabilities 

that relate to the ability of the defendant to pay a fine or restitution. 

8. FORFEITURE, CIVIL, AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS 

a. Nothing in this agreement shall be construed to protect the defendant from 

administrative or civil forfeiture proceedings or prohibit the United States from proceeding 

with and/or initiating an action for civil forfeiture. Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3613, all 

monetary penalties, including restitution imposed by the Court, shall be due immediately 

upon judgment, shall be subject to immediate enforcement by the United States, and shall 

be submitted to the Treasury Offset Program so that any federal payment or transfer of 

returned property the defendant receives may be offset and applied to federal debts (which 

offset will not affect the periodic payment schedule). If the Court imposes a schedule of 

payments, the schedule of payments shall be merely a schedule of minimum payments and 

shall not be a limitation on the methods available to the United States to enforce the 

judgment. 

9. ELEMENTS 

CIR- Abusive Sexual Contact of a Minor 

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1 On or benveen August 1, 2017 and August 31, 2017, in the District of Arizona: 

2 1. The defendant knowingly engaged in a sexual contact with the victim; 

3 2. The victim had attained the age of 12 years, but had not attained the age of 

4 16, and was at least 4 years younger than the defendant at the time of the contact; 

5 3. The defendant was an Indian at the time of the crime. Specifically, at the 

6 time of the crime, the defendant had some quantum of Indian blood and was a member of 

7 or was affiliated with a federally recognized tribe; and 

8 4. The offense happened in the District of Arizona, on an Indian Reservation, 

9 in Indian Country. 

10 "Sexual contact" is the intentional touching, directly or through the clothing of the 

11 breast of any person, with an intent to abuse, humiliate, harass, degrade or arouse or gratify 

12 the sexual desire of any person. 

13 10. FACTUAL BASIS 

14 a. The defendant admits that the following facts are true and that if this matter 

15 were to proceed to trial the United States could prove the following facts beyond a 

16 reasonable doubt: 

17 On or benveen August 1, 2017, and August 31, 2017, in the District of Arizona, 

18 within the confines of the Navajo Indian Reservation, Indian Country, the defendant, 

19 Jeremiah Phillips, an Indian, touched Jane Doe 2's breast with his hand under her shirt, but 

20 over her bra while she was sleeping. He touched her with the intent to gratify his own 

21 sexual desire. Jane Doe 2 was 13 years old at the time of the crime and the defendant was 

22 at least 4 years older. The defendant further admits that, at the time of the crime, he had 

23 some quantum of Indian blood and was an enrolled member of the Navajo Indian Tribe, 

24 which was a federally recognized tribe. 

25 b. The defendant shall swear under oath to the accuracy of this statement and, 

26 if the defendant should be called upon to testify about this matter in the future, any 

27 intentional material inconsistencies in the defendant's testimony may subject the defendant 

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1 to additional penalties for perjury or false swearing, which may be enforced by the United 

2 States under this agreement. 

3 APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE DEFENDANT 

4 I have read the entire plea agreement with the assistance of my attorney. I 

5 understand each of its provisions and I voluntarily agree to it. 

6 I have discussed the case and my constitutional and other rights with my attorney. 

7 I understand that by entering my plea of guilty I shall waive my rights to plead not guilty, 

8 to trial by jury, to confront, cross-examine, and compel the attendance of witnesses, to 

9 present evidence in my defense, to remain silent and refuse to be a witness against myself 

10 by asserting my privilege against self-incrimination, all with the assistance of counsel, and 

11 to be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. 

12 I agree to enter my guilty plea as indicated above on the terms and conditions set 

13 forth in this agreement. 

14 I have been advised by my attorney of the nature of the charges to which I am 

15 entering my guilty plea. I have further been advised by my attorney of the nature and range 

16 of the possible sentence and that my ultimate sentence shall be determined by the Court 

17 after consideration of the advisory Sentencing Guidelines. 

18 My guilty plea is not the result of force, threats, assurances, or promises, other than 

19 the promises contained in this agreement. I voluntarily agree to the provisions of this 

20 agreement and I agree to be bound according to its provisions. 

21 I have been advised, and understand, that under the Sex Offender Registration and 

22 Notification Act, a federal law, I must register and keep the registration current in each of 

23 the following jurisdictions: where I reside; where I am an employee; and where I am a 

24 student. I understand that the requirements for registration include providing my name, my 

25 residence address, and the names and addresses of any places where I am or will be an 

26 employee or a student, among other information. I further understand that the requirement 

27 to keep the registration current includes informing at least one jurisdiction in which I reside, 

28 am an employee, or am a student not later than three business days after any change of my 

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1 name, residence, employment, or student status. I have been advised, and understand, that 

2 failure to comply with these obligations subjects me to prosecution for failure to register 

3 under federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 2250, which is punishable by a fine or imprisonment, or 

4 both. 

5 I understand that if I am granted probation or placed on supervised release by the 

6 Court, the tenns and conditions of such probation/supervised release are subject to 

7 modification at any time. I further understand that if I violate any of the conditions ofmy 

8 probation/supervised release, my probation/supervised release may be revoked and upon 

9 such revocation, notwithstanding any other provision of this agreement, I may be required 

10 to serve a term of imprisonment or my sentence otherwise may be altered. 

11 This written plea agreement, and any written addenda filed as attachments to this 

12 plea agreement, contain all the terms and conditions of the plea. Any additional 

13 agreements, if any such agreements exist, shall be recorded in a separate document and 

14 may be filed with the Court under seal; accordingly, additional agreements, if any, may not 

15 be in the public record. 

16 I further agree that promises, including any predictions as to the Sentencing 

17 Guideline range or to any Sentencing Guideline factors that will apply, made by anyone 

18 (including my attorney) that are not contained within this written plea agreement, are null 

19 and void and have no force and effect. 

20 I am satisfied that my defense attorney has represented me in a competent manner. 

21 I fully understand the tenns and conditions of this plea agreement. I am not now 

22 usmg or under the influence of any drug, medication, liquor, or other intoxicant or 

23 depressant that would impair my ability to fully understand the terms and conditions of this 

24 plea agreement. 

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Defendant 

APPROVAL OF DEFENSE COUNSEL 

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I have discussed this case and the plea agreement with my client in detail and have 

advised the defendant of all matters within the scope of Fed. R. Crim. P. 11, the 

constitutional and other rights of an accused, the factual basis for and the nature of the 

offense to which the guilty plea will be entered, possible defenses, and the consequences 

of the guilty plea including the maximum statutory sentence possible. I have further 

discussed the concept of the advisory Sentencing Guidelines with the defendant. No 

assurances, promises, or representations have been given to me or to the defendant by the 

United States or any of its representatives that are not contained in this written agreement. 

I concur in the entry of the plea as indicated above and that the terms and conditions set 

forth in this agreement are in the best interests of my client. I agree to make a bona fide 

effort to ensure that the guilty plea is entered in accordance with all the requirements of 

Fed. R. Crim. P. 11. 

Date ' ' 

16 APPROVAL OF THE UNITED STATES 

17 I have reviewed this matter and the plea agreement. I agree on behalf of the United 

18 States that the terms and conditions set forth herein are appropriate and are in the best 

19 interests of justice. 

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Date 

cl 

ELIZABETH A. STRANGE 

First Assistant United States Attorney 

'kV7' mMHKA7u/d;soN 

Assistant U.S. Attorney 

ACCEPTANCE BY THE COURT 

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2 Date H~R~~ CMAPHELL 

United States District Judge 

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