Shiprock Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Assault Conviction

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of New Mexico
19 September 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE – Matthew Yazzie, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 78 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on assault charges.

Yazzie was arrested on Sept. 21, 2015, on a federal indictment charging him with assaulting two women and a man on June 13, 2015, in Indian Country in San Juan County, N.M. According to the indictment, the victims suffered serious bodily injuries as a result of the assaults.

On March 4, 2016, Yazzie pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. In its proffer of evidence, the United States indicated that Yazzie assaulted the victims by crashing the vehicle he was driving while under the influence of alcohol.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI, the New Mexico State Police and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez prosecuted the case.