Tuba City Man Sentenced to Over 8 Years for Armed Robbery and Assaulting Officers

     PHOENIX – This week, Warren Adam Blake, 37, of Tuba City, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 102 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release.  Blake, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, had previously pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and armed robbery.  Blake also received a concurrent 13-month sentence for violations of supervised release in a prior federal case.

     In the summer of 2017, Blake was on supervised release for a prior federal felony conviction and had an active arrest warrant for violating his conditions of release.  On Aug. 2, 2017, agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and criminal investigators with the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety attempted to arrest Blake on the warrant.  When law enforcement officers approached Blake in their vehicle, Blake hurried into a vehicle that had previously been reported stolen.  Blake then rammed the stolen vehicle into the officers’ vehicle and fled the scene.

     Blake evaded capture by law enforcement until Nov. 27, 2017.  That day, he entered a home in Tuba City without permission, pointed a gun at the homeowner, and demanded the keys to a vehicle.  Blake fled the scene in the stolen vehicle, leading police on a lengthy chase.  He was eventually captured on foot in a remote area of the Navajo Nation.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, and Bureau of Indian Affairs – Office of Justice Services (Hopi Agency).  The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Samuels, District of Arizona, Phoenix.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-17-08239-PCT-DLR; CR-14-08096-PCT-DLR

RELEASE NUMBER:    2018-135_Blake

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