Navajo Man Sentenced to Nine Years for Federal Manslaughter Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE—On August 9, 2011, in federal court in Albuquerque, Lolando Nez, 33, of Vanderwagen, New Mexico, was sentenced to a 109-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for his voluntary manslaughter conviction. Nez also was ordered to pay $11,937.74 in restitution to cover the costs of the victim’s funeral and medical expenses.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Nez, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was charged with killing Ethan Wemytewa, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Zuni, during a physical altercation on the Navajo Indian Reservation on May 2, 2010. Nez entered a guilty plea to a voluntary manslaughter charge on January 14, 2011.

According to court records, on May 1, 2010, officers of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety responded to a call regarding an assault and found a pickup truck with dark-colored spatter and stains that appeared to be dried blood on the seat and dashboard that was immobilized in a roadside ditch. Investigation revealed that Nez had been involved in an altercation with the driver, Mr. Wemytewa, who had been transported to the Gallup Indian Medical Center for emergency medical treatment. On May 2, 2010, Mr. Wemytewa died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head. A witness heard Nez acknowledge knocking Mr. Wemytewa unconscious during a fight on May 1, 2010, and saw Nez drive Mr. Wemytewa’s truck down the road to the area of the ditch. When special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation took Nez into custody later that day, Nez had numerous injuries consistent with having been involved in a physical altercation. Nez has been in federal custody since his arrest.

During his plea hearing, Nez admitted that, on May 1, 2010, Mr. Wemytewa, a person who was unknown to him, offered Nez from Gallup to his home in Vanderwagen. After arriving in Vanderwagen, the two men began drinking alcohol and became very intoxicated. The two men began to argue and the argument escalated into a physical fight. During the fight, Nez hit Mr. Wemytewa in the head causing him to fall and strike his head on a piece of wood. The head injury was the cause of Mr. Wemytewa’s death.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jack E. Burkhead.