Police Blotter: Fight between brothers results in federal charges

A fight between two brothers in Smith Lake ended with one brother going to the hospital with multiple head injuries and the other facing federal assault charges.

Mark V. Hill, 33, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and assault causing severe bodily harm, according to a redacted indictment filed in federal district court on Monday.

When emergency personnel arrived at the Hill residence about 11 a.m. on Aug. 23, they found Hill’s brother, who was identified as John Doe, in extreme pain due to being struck all over the body with a bat. Medical personnel said Doe, 23, was not able to communicate with them because of his injuries.

Court records said he was taken to the Gallup Indian Medical Center but his injuries were so severe that he had to be transported by airplane to the University of New Mexico Medical Center for emergency surgery.

A few days later, he was interviewed by criminal investigators with the Navajo Police Department from his bed at the UNM hospital.

Doe told police that he and his brother shared the house. Earlier that morning, he said, Hill came back with some miniature bottles of liquor. After each consumed three or four bottles, Doe said his brother became angry with him and started pushing him around.

Doe said he pushed back after which his brother pushed him to the ground and began hitting him in the facial area with his fists. He then left the house but returned a couple of minutes later carrying a brown wooden baseball bat.

He said his brother then began hitting him all over his body as he used his arms to protect his head. He said he then blacked out and when he woke up, he saw his sister and medical personnel.

He was diagnosed with a fractured jaw and skull, a fractured nasal passage, a torn left ear, a dislocated shoulder and lacerations to the shoulder area.

Hill is currently being held in custody of the U. S. Marshall’s Office in Albuquerque.

Man allegedly stabs mother, charged with assault

Federal charges were filed Thursday against an Upper Fruitland man who is accused of stabbing his mother multiple times.

Jamieson Mason, 28, faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. He’s currently being held in custody of the U.S. Marshall’s Office in Albuquerque.

According to court records, Navajo police responded on Oct. 8 to a report of a stabbing at the Navajo Housing Authority Complex in Upper Fruitland. The victim, identified as I. M. in the court records, was found bleeding from several knife wounds in the back and was transported to the San Juan Regional Hospital.

M. was treated for four stab wounds in the back. On Oct. 8 she was interviewed at the hospital by an FBI agent and a member of the Navajo Police Criminal Investigation unit.
She told law enforcement officials that she was at the NHA house with Mason, her son, and various other relatives attending a birthday party. The report said several witnesses to the stabbing said they thought Mason was either intoxicated or on drugs at the time of the stabbing.

She said Mason had spent most of the day outside her residence while she and her other son and daughter prepared the food that was going to be eaten at the party. Just before the stabbing occurred, she said she was sitting on a couch in the living room talking to three other relatives who showed up to attend the party.

Mason then came into the room with his hands behind his back and looked at the four people in the room and said, “So which one do I do first?”

He then approached his mother and pushed her back into the couch, she said, adding that it was at this time he stabbed her multiple times in the back. She described the weapon used as a black-bladed chef’s knife.

Immediately after the stabbing, she said her son ran out of the residence. Witnesses said he ran north with the knife still in his possession.

A nearby neighbor later told police she saw Mason around her residence shortly after the stabbing occurred. He was apparently trying to get closer to her residence when her dogs took notice of him and started barking. She said she saw the man reach for something in his sweater.

Police later learned that Mason sent messages from his Facebook page. One was to a friend saying he needed a place to stay. The man wrote back saying “Homie, you are stupid as hell. You are going to prison forever.”

He then told Mason that everyone was out looking for him. “You already know how it goes. No women or children, idiot.”

Mason responded by telling him he knew he had messed up. He was captured by police later that night and put into the San Juan Correctional Center.

He told police that his mother’s place was his primary residence but he stayed overnight frequently with friends in the Farmington area.

He said he was outside his mother’s house listening to people inside talk about the birthday when he began hearing voices in his head telling him he had to stab his mother. He said he then went into the kitchen and obtained a knife and stabbed his mother multiple times.

He then ran to a nearby road and offered a man $10 to drive him to Farmington. He said he probably threw his knife into a river near his mother’s residence. He said he also took the SIM card out of his cell phone so police would not be able to find him.

Police said after the interview with Mason, they followed his route but were unable to find any weapons.

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