Man from Dulce, New Mexico, pleads guilty to assaulting 8-month-old baby in Indian Country

            ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Patrick Duran, 31, of Dulce, New Mexico, pleaded guilty on Aug. 19 in federal court in Albuquerque to assaulting an infant in Indian Country resulting in serious bodily injury.

            According to his plea agreement and other public court records, Duran assaulted the child on or about Sept. 28, 2014, on the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.  Duran lost his temper while babysitting.  He picked the baby up from its crib and bit the baby on the arm.  The baby’s mother later returned home to find her child unresponsive with both eyes looking in the same direction.  She called an ambulance to take the baby to a hospital in Farmington where doctors ordered the baby flown to Albuquerque for further treatment for serious internal injuries, including bleeding to the brain and eyes, and seizures.  The baby is eligible to register with the Jicarilla Apache Nation because both of the child’s parents are members.  Duran is a non-Indian.

            Duran is out of custody awaiting sentencing on Nov.30. He faces up to seven years in prison under the terms of his plea agreement.  .

            The Farmington office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Jicarilla Apache Police Department investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kyle Nayback and Nicholas Marshall are prosecuting the case.