PHOENIX—On Sept. 29, 2014, Joe Arviso Benally, 51, of Red Valley, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow to 153 months’ imprisonment followed by five years of supervised release. Benally was found guilty by a federal jury on July 9, 2014, of involuntary manslaughter and use (discharge) of a firearm in a crime of violence, the offense occurred on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

The evidence at trial was that Benally, after an argument, retrieved his .270 caliber hunting rifle, loaded it, and shot the victim in the chest, killing him.

The investigation in this case was conducted by Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. The prosecution was handled by Christina Covault and Melissa Karlen, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.