The U.S. Attorney’s Office has given no date for sharing evidence against five indicted Makah men with the tribal prosecutor, but a spokeswoman said the tribe won’t have to wait until the federal case is finished.
“We committed to sharing those materials with the tribal prosecutor as soon as we can,” said Emilie Langlie, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on Friday.
“There’s no intention to wait until the federal case has been disposed of.”
Wayne Johnson, Theron Parker, Andy Noel, Billy Secor Sr. and Frank Gonzales Jr. each have been federally indicted on three misdemeanor charges, it was announced on Thursday.
According to the indictment, the five took two motorboats into the Strait of Juan de Fuca northeast of Neah Bay on the morning of Sept. 8 and harpooned a 40-foot-long gray whale.
They then shot it at least 16 times with at least one of the three high-powered rifles.
The whale died hours later in the Strait.
The men are scheduled to be arraigned in U.S. District Court of Western Washington in Tacoma on Friday.
