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Press Release

30 Year Prison Sentence for Convicted Killer

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

ALBUQUERQUE – A Farmington man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the brutal killing of a man on the Navajo Nation in 2020.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, between February 6, 2020, and February 15, 2020, Tyran Begay, 40, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, helped confine and torture John Doe alongside Camille Damon and Ronald Belone by binding and beating the victim, and leaving his body exposed to frigid weather in a remote area near Smith Lake, New Mexico.

Upon his release from prison, Begay will be subject to five years of supervised release.

Damon and Belone remain in custody pending trial, which has yet been scheduled.

Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Probasco and Meg P. Tomlinson are prosecuting the case. 

Updated April 17, 2025

Topics
Indian Country Law and Justice
Violent Crime
Press Release Number: 25-141