Ex-White Mountain Apache cop, Joshua Ben Anderson, has been hit with federal charges over his alleged cover-up of a fatal incident last Thanksgiving, authorities said Monday. A Phoenix grand jury slammed the 49-year-old with two counts of obstruction, accusing him of engaging in misleading conduct to hinder an inquiry and corruptly altering and concealing evidence, per an announcement by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Anderson was on the clock when he stumbled upon a body on State Route 73, after feeling a "bump" earlier on the road and failing to stop; the indictment claims he played an active role in the subsequent investigation into the death, mixing with paramedics, witnesses, officers, and even penning an autopsy report, and telling the victim's kin about the tragedy, all while keeping mum about his own potential involvement. After hanging up his badge the day after the woman's death, Anderson allegedly went to the extent of stripping his squad vehicle of its damaged bumper and hiding it.
If convicted of the offenses, he's looking at a max of 20 years in the slammer for each count and a $250,000 fine, yet it's important to remember an indictment doesn't equate to a guilt sentence — innocence remains until proven otherwise in the eyes of the law. The FBI alongside the White Mountain Apache Tribe Police Department spearheaded the investigation leading to Anderson's charges, and the prosecution baton has been passed to the district's federal attorneys.
