A young Towaoc man has been indicted on murder charges for the beating death of Ritche Clark more than a year ago, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office in Durango.

Alden P. House, 18, was indicted in May by a federal grand jury for second-degree murder and aiding and abetting in that offense for his alleged role in Clark’s murder, which occurred sometime between March 28 and February 2.

Authorities said the murder followed an alleged drunken altercation between Clark and three drinking partners on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation.

House pleaded innocent to the charges Thursday in U.S. District Court.

The identity of House, a juvenile suspect at the time of the crime, had been withheld pending the prosecution’s now- successful efforts to have him tried as an adult.

U.S. Attorney Robert Kennedy said that the courts decided to try House as an adult "because of the nature of the offense and a prior record. The U.S. District Court ordered his transfer for prosecution as an adult on May 23."

Shortly after the decision to try House as an adult, the federal grand jury indicted him on the murder charges, Kennedy said.

House is being detained in the La Plata County jail without bond pending his trial, set tentatively for August.

Two friends of Clark — Karla Silas, 29, and Thomas Tom, 25 — were convicted and sentenced last summer for their roles in the killing, which took place in a wooded area at the base of Sleeping Ute Mountain, according to police affidavits. Those records also state that according to testimony from friends and relatives, Clark’s body was moved in Silas’ vehicle to a location some distance from the original murder scene.

Silas was sentenced to four years in federal prison after accepting a plea bargain to accessory after the fact to second-degree murder.

Tom is serving a seven-year, three-month prison sentence after plea bargaining to second-degree murder of Clark. As part of their plea bargains, Silas and Tom agreed to testify in future proceedings regarding the case.

Clark was ultimately killed by a blow to the face with a log, according to witnesses quoted in the affidavits.

Silas, Tom and House are all members of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, as was Clark.