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Press Release

Pinehill, N.M., Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault Charge

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

ALBUQUERQUE – Charlie Cohoe, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Pine Hill, N.M., pleaded guilty to a federal assault charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Cohoe was arrested on Jan. 25, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the criminal complaint, on Jan. 18, 2013, Cohoe repeatedly stabbed another Navajo man who had agreed to drive Cohoe to a friend’s residence. The assault occurred in in Cibola County within the Ramah Indian Reservation.

During this morning’s proceedings, Cohoe pled guilty to a felony information, charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon. In entering his guilty plea, Cohoe admitted assaulting the victim with a knife, causing life-threatening injuries that required surgery.

Cohoe has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Cohoe faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Ramah Navajo Police Department with assistance from the New Mexico State Police, the Grants Police Department and the Cibola County Sheriff’s Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Mysliwiec.

Updated January 26, 2015