Dulce Man Sentenced for Domestic Violence

ALBUQUERQUE – A Dulce man was sentenced to 54 months in prison after pleading guilty to assault of an intimate partner by strangling.

According to court documents, on or about July 8, 2022, Patrick Maestas, Jr., 34, an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, had consumed a large amount of alcohol when he and his intimate partner, Jane Doe, began to argue. The argument escalated and Maestas assaulted and strangled Jane Doe in front of their child. The strangulation was so forceful that Doe could not breathe and began to black out.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Maestas will be required to serve 3 years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement today.

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

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