U.S. Attorney Secures 14-Year Sentence for Second Assailant in 2021 Kidnapping and Death of Gallup Man

ALBUQUERQUE – A Gallup woman was sentenced to 14 years in prison and order to pay $19,498.71 in restitution for her role in luring and abducting a man who was later found dead in Mentmore, New Mexico after a week-long community search.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on the afternoon of September 16, 2021, Shannon Etsitty, 23 (an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation), Elias Viola, and Halbert Sam were using methamphetamine and drinking alcohol. Viola learned Etsitty had been in a relationship with John Doe and expressed a desire to harm Doe. The group devised a plan to lure John Doe to them, under the pretense of a meeting with Etsitty, who would pick Doe up alone to avoid suspicion.

After picking up Doe in Viola’s car, Etsitty drove Doe to where Viola and Sam were waiting. Viola entered through the car’s missing windshield and assaulted John Doe. Sam entered through the back passenger door and held Doe against the front passenger seat so Viola could beat Doe without Doe being able to defend himself. During the assault, Doe grabbed the steering wheel, causing the car to veer off the road and become stuck.

The attack upon Doe continued outside the vehicle, with Viola using a screwdriver and baseball bat. After beating and stabbing Doe, the party hid Doe’s body in nearby bushes. Law enforcement—unaware of Doe’s condition—arrived at the scene of the disabled car and helped Etsitty and Viola get the car unstuck; Sam, meanwhile, hid in the bushes with Doe’s body. Once the car was unstuck, Etsitty and Viola went to Etsitty’s mother’s house, leaving Doe’s body and hidden with Sam by the roadside.

Later, Etsitty, Viola, Etsitty’s sister, and Etsitty’s sister’s boyfriend returned to the location where the group had hidden Doe’s body. They then moved Doe to a field near Etsitty’s mother’s house.

On September 23, 2021, John Doe’s body was located in that Mentmore field. OMI found Doe to have multiple injuries, including a stab wound to his chest and severe head trauma. The manner of his death was ruled a homicide. Evidence linked Etsitty and Viola to the crime scene and Doe’s last known whereabouts.

On September 18, 2023, Viola pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Upon her release from prison, Etsitty will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations, the Gallup Police Department and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case.

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