Navajo Man from Sanostee Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assault Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Milton Washburn, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Sanostee, N.M., was sentenced this afternoon in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 46 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his assault conviction.

Washburn was arrested on Oct. 23, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting another Navajo man on Oct. 19, 2014, by running over him with a vehicle.  Court filings reflect that officers of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety responded to a call reporting that the victim had been deliberately run over by a vehicle and was seriously injured.  The victim was taken to the hospital where he received medical treatment for a number of internal injuries, including rib fractures, a collapsed lung, a damaged liver, and a spinal fracture.

On Nov. 5, 2014, Washburn was indicted and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon - a vehicle - and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  According to the indictment, Washburn committed these crimes within the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.

On April 27, 2015, Washburn pled guilty to one count of the indictment, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and admitted that on Oct. 19, 2014, he ran over the victim with a vehicle after he engaged in an altercation with the victim.   Washburn acknowledged that the victim suffered multiple injuries as a result of the assault.
This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Farmington office of the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Raquel Ruiz-Velez and Elaine Ramirez prosecuted the case.