Navajo Man Sentenced to 151 Months in Prison for Federal Second-Degree Murder Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, Tyrus Begaye, 35, was sentenced to a 151-month term of imprisonment for his second-degree murder conviction. He will be on supervised release for three years after he completes his prison sentence.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that, on April 7, 2011, Tyrus Begaye and his cousin, Darnell Begay, 37, pleaded guilty to killing Peyton Hogue on February 6, 2010 in Burnham, N.M., a small community on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Tyrus Begaye and Darnell Begay are enrolled members of the Navajo Nation who reside in Burnham. Their victim, Mr. Hogue, was also a member of the Navajo Nation.

According to court records, shortly after midnight on February 6, 2010, officers of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety (NNDPS) were notified that a dead man, later identified as Mr. Hogue, had been found near the residence of Darnell Begay. Mr. Hogue had sustained extensive trauma to his face and neck and had small puncture wounds in his abdomen. On February 8, 2010, at the urging of relatives and community leaders, Tyrus Begaye and Darnell Begaye walked into the NNDPS office in Shiprock and made voluntary statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and NNDPS. Each independently admitted that the two cousins beat Mr. Hogue with their fists and kicked him in the head. Each also stated that Mr. Hogue was sitting up and coughing up blood when they departed from the scene of the attack.

In entering his guilty plea, Tyrus Begaye admitted killing Mr. Hogue, a man unknown to him at the time, shortly after midnight on February 6, 2010 by striking him with his fists and feet. He further stated that, after he began the attack on Mr. Hogue, Darnell Begay joined in the attack. Tyrus Begay also admitted that Mr. Hogue was alive and coughing up blood when they departed the scene of their attack on Mr. Hogue, and that he subsequently learned that Mr. Hogue died from the injuries he sustained during the attack.

Tyrus Begay and Darnell Begay have been in federal custody since they were arrested on February 8, 2010. Darnell Begay’s sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the FBI and NNDPS, Shiprock Division, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Roberto D. Ortega.