Navajo Man from Arizona Pleads Guilty to Federal Misdemeanor Assault Charge in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Calvin Fuson, 44, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Winslow, Ariz., pleaded guilty this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to a misdemeanor assault charge.

Fuson was arrested on April 17, 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that on Dec. 25, 2013, Fuson assaulted a Navajo man by stabbing the victim with a knife.  According to the complaint, officers of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety responded to a call reporting a stabbing that occurred in Naschitti, N.M., which is located on the Navajo Indian reservation.  The victim was treated for a stab wound approximately five centimeters long.  Fuson subsequently was indicted and charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon.

During today’s proceedings, Fuson pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with assault by striking, beating or wounding.  In entering his guilty plea, Fuson admitted that on Dec. 25, 2013, while at his family’s residence in Naschitti, N.M., he stabbed the victim, a 50-year-old Navajo man, with a knife during a fight.  Fuson required medical treatment for injuries he sustained during the fight.

At sentencing Fuson faces a statutory maximum penalty of a year in federal prison and a maximum of 12 months of supervised release.  Fuson has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers is prosecuting this case.