Skip to main content
Press Release

Tohatchi Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Federal Murder 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 America Women

ALBUQUERQUE – Dennison Hale, 44, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Tohatchi, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 210 months in prison for his conviction on a second-degree murder charge.  Hale will be on supervised release for five years after completing his prison sentence.

 

Hale was arrested on Feb. 23, 2016, by the FBI on a criminal complaint alleging that he murdered a Navajo woman on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.  According to the complaint, on Feb. 20, 2016, Hale struck the victim in the head and fled from the scene of the crime, the victim’s home in Hogsback, N.M.  The victim was transported by helicopter to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.  Hale was later indicted on a murder charge on March 23, 2016.

 

On Feb. 28, 2017, Hale pled guilty to a felony information charging him with second degree murder.  In entering the guilty plea, Hale admitted that on Feb. 20, 2016, he killed the victim by striking her twice in the head with a crowbar. 

 

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 prosecuted the case.

 

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 American 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 December 7, 2017

Topics
Indian Country Law and Justice
Violent Crime