Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault Charge in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Antonio Yazzie, 22, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Lukachukai, Ariz., pleaded guilty this morning to an assault with a dangerous weapon charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Yazzie and his sister Maraintoinette Lynn Yazzie, 26, also of Lukachukai, Ariz., were arrested in April 2014, on a criminal complaint alleging that attacked a Navajo man at his home in Tohlakai, N.M., on Feb. 26, 2014.  The two subsequently were indicted in May 2014, and charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of robbery.  According to court filings, Yazzie and his sister allegedly assaulted the victim by restraining him and striking him repeatedly in the face and head with a rock and a coffee mug.  The two then allegedly robbed the victim of cash and his truck.

During today’s proceedings, Yazzie pled guilty to Count 1 charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon.  In his plea agreement, Yazzie admitted striking the victim in the head and the face with a rock and a coffee mug with the intent to do bodily harm.

Yazzie has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.  At sentencing, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

Mariantoinette Lynn Yazzie has been in federal custody since her arrest and has entered a not guilty plea to the charges in the indictment.  Charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case was investigated by the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul H. Spiers.