Santo Domingo Woman Sentenced for Assault on Federal Officer

ALBUQUERQUE – A Santo Domingo woman was sentenced to 17 months and 2 days in prison for assaulting a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer during a traffic stop.

According to court documents, on October 21, 2021, an officer from the Bureau of Indian Affairs executed a traffic stop on a car driven by Henryetta John, 31, for driving 15mph in a 45mph zone on the Pueblo of Santo Domingo. Initially, John sped up before eventually stopping. When the officer approached John, she observed her bloodshot eyes and that she had difficulty producing a driver’s license. John failed a subsequent field sobriety test and admitted to consuming alcohol.

The officer arrested John for driving under the influence. Initially, John complied, however when the officer attempted to place John in handcuffs, she slipped the handcuffs and physically assaulted the officer, causing them to roll down a hillside. The officer sustained multiple injuries as a result of the altercation.

When the officer separated from John, she climbed up the hill to her police vehicle and called for assistance while John fled. A K9 unit and other officers responded and pursued John. They found her hiding under a tree. John refused to respond to commands to come out from under the tree, so they attempted to use the police dog to retrieve her. John struck the police dog in the face. The K9 officer then put a cuff on John, and she tried to pull away and resist, but the officer and the police dog removed John from the tree and arrested her.

After completing her term of imprisonment, John will be required to serve three 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’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

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