Albuquerque man sentenced to ten years in prison for assault and firearms violations

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Byron Rosetta was sentenced to ten years and one day in prison. Rosetta, 38, of Albuquerque, and an enrolled member of the Kewa Pueblo, pleaded guilty on June 22, 2022, to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian Country and one count of using a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to the plea agreement and other court records, on January 3, 2020, law enforcement began receiving reports of seemingly indiscriminate shooting incidents along Interstate 25 between Bernalillo, New Mexico, and the Kewa Pueblo. Eventually, law enforcement determined that a Kewa man, Byron Rosetta, was responsible for the shootings.  Between January 3, 2020, and April 4, 2020, law enforcement determined that Rosetta shot from his vehicle and from the roadside at several drivers near I-25. Rosetta used various firearms, including a .38 caliber pistol.  Several victims suffered injuries and damage to their windshields and other parts of their vehicles.

On April 4, 2020, Rosetta fired a shotgun at a vehicle traveling south on I-25 through the Kewa Pueblo, and the driver of the vehicle was struck in the face by birdshot. Rosetta then shot an ambulance from Santo Domingo Pueblo that responded to a 911 call for the incident. Despite damage to the ambulance windshield, paramedics continued their service and transported the occupants of the first vehicle to the University of New Mexico Hospital.

On April 5, 2020, Rosetta was driving on State Road 22 on the Kewa Pueblo in Sandoval County, New Mexico, when he shot a passing vehicle, narrowly missing the unsuspecting driver. The driver reported the incident to law enforcement, and agents were able to identify Rosetta’s vehicle in surveillance footage.

On April 9, New Mexico State Police officers executed a search warrant on Rosetta’s residence. During the search, officers located a handgun, a shotgun, and ammunition.

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

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the New Mexico State Police, the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Spindle is prosecuting the case.

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