Fruitland Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Assault

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 Anderson Buck was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Buck, 40, of Fruitland, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury on April 28, 2023.

According to court documents, Nov. 17, 2022, Buck and his girlfriend, Jane Doe, were driving around the area of Nenahnezad and were both heavily inebriated. Jane Doe drank to the point of passing out in the passenger seat of Buck’s vehicle. Buck drove to a friend’s house where he left Jane Doe in the car and went inside. While at his friend’s house, Buck consumed more alcohol before deciding to leave an hour later. Outside, Buck tried to wake Jane Doe before he became frustrated and drove away. Bucks’ friend reported that Jane Doe was unconscious and not injured at the time they departed.

About thirty minutes later, Buck arrived at his family’s compound. One of Buck’s relatives exited their residence and observed Buck and Jane Doe in the car. When they got closer, they saw that Jane Doe was slumped over with a bloody face. When Buck’s relative asked hat had happened, Buck replied “she was talking [expletive].” Buck’s relatives called the police, but Buck departed the compound on foot before police and medical personnel arrived.

Buck’s mother later brought him to be interviewed by law enforcement. Buck claimed that he and Jane Doe had gone to an unknown residence where three unknown females had beaten Jane Doe. Subsequent investigation revealed evidence that Jane Doe had been beaten in Buck’s vehicle which was inconsistent with Buck’s version of the events.

Jane Doe was hospitalized in the ICU for several weeks following the incident before she was discharged to a rehabilitation hospital. She suffered a blown-out eye socket, brain bleeding, and other severe injuries in the assault. Jane Doe passed away on April 18, 2023, ten days before Buck entered his guilty plea, after suffering from various maladies including after-effects of the assault.

Upon his release from prison, Buck will be subject to 3 years of supervised release.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Flores is prosecuting the case.

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