Laguna Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting an Intimate Partner by Strangulation

ALBUQUERQUE – William E. Valencia, 28, an enrolled member of Laguna Pueblo who resides in Paguete, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to assaulting his girlfriend by strangling or suffocating.

Valencia was arrested in Aug. 2018, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a Laguna Pueblo woman by strangling her on July 17, 2018, in Cibola County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Valencia assaulted the victim by stabbing her right arm with keys, punching and kicking her, and strangling her until she could not breathe and had blurry vision.  The complaint alleged that the victim suffered punctures, bruising and red marks to both sides of her arms and her chest, and bruising and bumps to her head and legs as result of the assault.

During today’s proceedings, Valencia pled guilty to assault of an intimate partner by strangling or suffocating.  In entering the guilty plea, Valencia admitted that on July 17, 2018, he assaulted his girlfriend by grabbing her by the throat and strangling her so she could not breathe.

At sentencing, Valencia faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in federal prison.  He remains in custody pending a sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the BIA Office of Justice Services.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa C. Dimas is prosecuting the case as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's ongoing efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.