Shiprock Man Sentenced to 41 Months on Federal Assault Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—Tyrell Elliot Frank, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, New Mexico, was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, for his assault conviction.

Frank was arrested in April 2012, based on a criminal complaint charging him with assault. He subsequently was indicted and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to court filings, on April 1, 2012, Frank repeatedly struck another Navajo man with a machete. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered severe cuts to his left arm and his back.

In August 2013, Frank pleaded guilty to count two of the indictment, charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In his plea agreement, Frank admitted that during the early hours of April 1, 2012, people arrived at his residence and approached him. Frank stated that, because he recently had been released from the hospital after having been assaulted, he struck a person he did not know with a machete, causing him serious bodily injury. Frank stated that he later learned that the victim did not intend to harm him.

This case was investigated by the Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI and the Shiprock Office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.