Dulce Man Pleads Guilty to Domestic Assault

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced that Patrick Maestas pled guilty to assault of a spouse, intimate partner, and dating partner, by strangling, suffocating, and attempting to strangle and suffocate. Maestas, 34, of Dulce, and an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

According to court records, on July 8, 2022, Maestas had consumed a large quantity of alcohol and began an argument with Jane Doe, the mother of his child and intimate partner. During the argument, Maestas punched a TV and pinned Jane Doe to the bed in the presence of their child. Maestas then used the collar of Jane Doe’s shirt to strangle her, causing Jane Doe to black out and causing serious bodily injury.

At sentencing, Maestas faces up to ten years in prison followed by 3 years of supervise release.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Jicarilla Apache Police Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Bell is prosecuting the case.

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