Shiprock Man Sentenced to 81 Months in Federal Prison for Conviction on Assault and Firearms Charges

ALBUQUERQUE—Raydell Billy, 22, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, New Mexico, was sentenced yesterday afternoon to 81 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for his conviction on assault and firearms charges.

Billy was arrested in January 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault and firearms offenses and has been in federal custody since that time. Billy subsequently was indicted and charged with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, assault with a dangerous weapon; and using a firearm during a crime of violence. Billy was charged with committing these offenses on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, New Mexico, on November 15, 2012 and January 12, 2013.

Billy pled guilty on March 12, 2013, to a felony information charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In entering his guilty plea, Billy admitted that on January 12, 2013, he assaulted an individual with a .22 caliber Winchester rifle by pointing the rifle at the victim and pulling the trigger. Billy also admitted hitting the victim in the head with the butt-stock of the rifle.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque and Farmington Offices of the FBI and the Shiprock Office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, and it was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.