Fruitland Man Pleads Guilty in in Fatal Drunk Driving Crash

ALBUQUERQUE – A Fruitland man pleaded guilty to second degree murder after driving drunk at 107 miles per hour and crashing into an oncoming vehicle, killing the driver.

According to court documents, on December 9, 2024, Timothy Begay, 39, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving drunk when he crossed the center line and hit a car driving the opposite direction, killing the driver. At the time of the crash, Begay was driving 107 MPH. Medical records showed that he has a blood alcohol level of .239.

Begay pleaded guilty to second degree murder and faces up 15 years in prison at sentencing.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.