Convicted murderer killed second victim 16 days after release in Arizona, feds say

A 47-year-old man is going to prison after he was accused of fatally shooting a man in Arizona, federal officials said.

Sixteen days after Clifton Nez Hamalowa was released from prison in 2020 after serving time connected to a murder charge, he shot Richard Olds to death, accoridng to a sentencing memorandum filed May 22 in district court.

Hamalowa of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, fatally shot Olds in the head in front of his young child, according to a May 29 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

McClatchy News reached out to Hamalowa’s lawyer on May 30 for a statement and was awaiting a response.

Hamalowa and his siblings tried disposing of Olds’ car and dumped his body in a remote area, prosecutors said.

After a seven-day trial, Hamalowa was found guilty on charges of murder, conspiracy to commit assault resulting in serious bodily injury, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and discharging a firearm, prosecutors said.

His siblings, Thomas Leon Hamalowa and Devonne Beth Hamalowa, pleaded guilty to accessory and were sentenced to time in prison, prosecutors said.

On May 27, Clifton Nez Hamalowa was sentenced to life in prison plus 10 years, officials said.

In the sentencing memo, prosecutors said Clifton Nez Hamalowa “is considered a career offender because of his lengthy history of violence.”

In 1991, Clifton Nez Hamalowa stabbed his mother with a butcher knife, according to the memo.



Then in 1999, he stabbed a man to death during an argument and later threatened his mother when she said she was going to turn him in, the document said.

Between 1999 and 2000 while serving time, Clifton Nez Hamalowa stabbed another inmate, the memo said.

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community is about a 30-mile drive northeast from Phoenix.

This story was originally published May 30, 2025 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Convicted murderer killed second victim 16 days after release in Arizona, feds say."