Navajo Man from Shiprock Pleads Guilty to Federal Involuntary Manslaughter Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Byron Harold Peshlakai, 25, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Peshlakai was arrested in Oct. 2016, on an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter. According to the indictment, Peshlakai killed the victim with his vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation on Oct. 25, 2015.

During today’s proceedings, Peshlakai pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing Peshlakai faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy is prosecuting the case.