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Press Release

Mentmore man sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for carjacking and assault

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Nathan Singer Lee was sentenced on Dec. 22, 2022, to seven and a half years in prison. On Aug. 25, 2021, Lee, 28, of Mentmore, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury, obstructing justice by retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant resulting in bodily harm, and carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury.

Lee had been staying at the home of the victim, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, identified in court records as Jane Doe, in Ramah, New Mexico, since Jan. 26, 2020. On Jan. 28, Jane Doe and her boyfriend traveled to Albuquerque, where they had been summoned to testify before a grand jury in a matter involving an individual known by Lee. Jane Doe and her boyfriend told Lee that they were both witnesses in the case against the other individual, and Lee travelled to Albuquerque with them.

On Jan. 31, 2020, Lee and Jane Doe’s boyfriend were arrested in connection with a dispute with a neighbor. Lee was released from custody around 1:30am on Feb. 1, 2020, and returned to Jane Doe’s home. Jane Doe provided Lee with blankets to sleep, then proceeded to clean her room before going to bed.

Around 3:00am, Jane Doe went to the kitchen for a mop and encountered Lee, who told her he had been waiting for her. Lee threw Jane Doe to the floor and punched and kicked her repeatedly. When she tried to get up, he threw her to the floor again, causing an injury to her head. She asked Lee why he was doing this, and he told her it was because she and her boyfriend were “snitches.” At another point during the assault, Lee also said, “I don’t care, I’ll [expletive] kill you.”

As Lee continued to assault Jane Doe, she attempted to call the police. Lee took her cell phone and tried to break it with his hands, then used a hatchet to break it. Lee reached into Jane Doe’s pockets and took her EBT card and her keys. After recovering some of his belongings, Lee fled in Jane Doe’s vehicle.

Upon his release from prison, Lee will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Ramah Navajo Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Flores prosecuted the case.

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Updated January 4, 2023

Topics
Violent Crime
Indian Country Law and Justice
Press Release Number: 23-3