PHOENIX, Ariz. — A man from the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community has been convicted of murder and multiple felonies for his role in a 2020 shooting and cover-up, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced Tuesday.
Clifton Nez Hamalowa, 47, was found guilty of First-Degree Murder, Conspiracy to Commit Assault, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence following a seven-day trial in U.S. District Court.
According to trial evidence, Hamalowa shot the victim multiple times in the head on August 29, 2020, after an argument the night before. He later abandoned the body in a remote area of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Reservation.
His family helped cover up the crime—his brother, Thomas Hamalowa, dumped the victim’s car in Parker, Arizona, while his sister, Devonne Hamalowa, forced her daughter to clean the bloodied crime scene on the Gila River Indian Reservation.
For two weeks, the siblings threatened witnesses to keep them silent. A witness eventually contacted Gila River Police, leading to the rescue of the victim’s minor child from the home.
Both siblings previously pleaded guilty to Accessory-After-the-Fact to Murder:
Thomas Hamalowa was sentenced to 108 months in prison in October 2023.
Devonne Hamalowa received 84 months in April 2024.
The case was investigated by the FBI and Gila River Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer LaGrange and Travis Wheeler in Phoenix.
