Court Briefs | Shiprock man guilty of assault with dangerous weapon

LOS ANGELES

A federal jury in Albuquerque has found a Shiprock man guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do harm.

Christopher Kee, 28, is in custody pending a sentencing hearing which has not been set yet.

Kee was accused in 2020 by his former girlfriend of multiple cases of assault against her, including incidents where he stabbed her.

According to court records, his former girlfriend, identified as C.C., first made the accusations against Kee on July 14, 2020, to two criminal investigators for the Navajo Police in Shiprock.

She told them the abuse had been going for some time but she had been afraid to report it for fear of what Kee would do if he found out she was talking with police.

She decided to come forward, she said, after she left Kee and moved to a domestic violence shelter.

One of the incidents occurred on Oct. 20, 2019, when Kee came home intoxicated and became angry with her, she said.

During the attack, she said she was stabbed three times.

The next incident occurred on April, 19, 2020. She said the two began arguing in their bedroom. She said the attack began when he threw her on their bed and would not let her get up. He stabbed her on her wrist.

She continued to fight back and he stabbed her in her abdomen. He then stabbed her several times.

When she had the opportunity, she said she ran out of the house shirtless, heading for the highway located about a quarter of a mile away. When she got to the highway, she flagged down a passing motorist who took her to the Shiprock hospital.

Sanostee man faces 2nd-degree murder charge

A Sanostee, New Mexico, man has been charged with second-degree murder in federal district court in Albuquerque.

Tryone Atctty Nez, 33, is in the custody of the U. S. Marshal’s Office pending a trial. No date has been set for that trial.

According to court records, on June 8 police received a call from Nez’s neighbors reporting something had happened at his house. When police arrived they found Nez on his knees with his hands behind him.

He told police he had assaulted a member of his family who was laying unresponsive inside the house.

The victim was identified as B.Z., 32. Medical service personnel were called to the scene but were unable to revive him.

Nez was arrested and police began interviewing Nez’s neighbors who said they saw Nez and B.Z. getting intoxicated, walking to and from the house.

About 15 minutes after the two were seen going into the house, Nez ran out of the house yelling for them to call police.

When police went inside the building, they found B.Z. lying on his side on the floor.

Three days later, FBI agents interviewed Nez who waived his rights and said he was acting in self-defense. The court records noted that when he was arrested, he had no recent marks or injuries on his body.

Upon further questioning, Nez admitted punching B.Z. one time rendering him unconscious. He said that he then stomped on B.Z.’s face five to 10 times. After stomping on him, Nez said he ran outside to get his neighbors to call police.

Nez had 14 separate arrests by the Navajo Police, including five for public intoxication, five for disorderly conduct and one for battery on a family member.

Escapee from halfway house back in custody

Thomas Navaho is back in federal custody after escaping from a halfway house in Albuquerque in April.

The 29-year-old Shiprock resident had been serving a 51-month sentence for a 2018 federal assault conviction.

He was charged for assaulting Jimmie Navaho Jr., his girlfriend and another man on April 28, 2018. The other man was identified as Jimmie Navaho’s father.

According to court records, that evening Thomas Navaho assaulted his girlfriend near the home of Jimmie Navaho and his father. He then fled the scene before police arrived.

When police left, Thomas Navaho entered Jimmie Navajo’s house and saw his girlfriend sitting in a chair. He then overturned the chair, causing her to fall. He then punched her and dragged her out of the house by her feet.

He then went back into the house and assaulted Jimmie Navaho Jr., forcing him to the ground. As a result of the attack, Jimmie Navaho Jr. suffered fractured ribs, a brain bleed and lacerations on his lip and the back of his head.

This was not the first time he had been convicted in federal court of assault causing serious injury. The first conviction occurred in 2014.

After his escape from the halfway house, a federal arrest warrant was issued and he was back in custody nine days later.

He entered a guilty plea to the escape charge last week.

He was facing an additional five years of imprisonment but because he accepted responsibility for his actions, the prosecution agreed to ask for a reduced sentence.

The date for sentencing has not yet been set.

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