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Press Release

Thoreau Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Assault Conviction

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico
Defendant Prosecuted as Part of Federal Initiative to Address the Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women

ALBUQUERQUE – Anthony J. Hamilton, 30, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Thoreau, N.M., was sentenced this morning in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 41 months in federal prison for his assault conviction.  Hamilton will be on supervised release for three years following his term of incarceration.

Hamilton was arrested on June 11, 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.  Court documents indicate that the investigation of this matter began on May 18, 2015, when law enforcement officers were notified that Hamilton had assaulted his girlfriend, a Navajo woman, and two Navajo men in McKinley County, N.M. 

On Sept. 29, 2015, Hamilton pled guilty to a felony information charging him with two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  In entering the guilty plea, Hamilton admitted that on May 18, 2015, he repeatedly struck two individuals on the face, head and body with his fists and elbows.  As a result of Hamilton’s criminal acts, one of the victims suffered an acute depressed fracture and a concussion and the other victim suffered an acute bilateral fracture to the bones within his orbital and sinus structures.

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Gallup office of the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito.

This case was brought as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.

Updated February 4, 2016

Topic
Indian Country Law and Justice