Mescalero Man Charged with Domestic Assault

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Ashton Louis Apachito appeared in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with assault by strangling and/or suffocating an intimate partner. Apachito, 19, of Mescalero and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, will remain in custody pending a preliminary and detention hearing set for September 15, 2023.

According to the criminal complaint, on July 19, while at his mother’s residence in Mescalero, Apachito allegedly lost his temper and choked and bit the victim on the cheek. Apachito’s family intervened and reported the incident to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), but officers were only informed that Apachito was causing a disturbance, not of the assault.

Following the incident, the victim left the residence to stay with her mother. Over the next several days, Apachito allegedly harassed the victim by phone and threatened to throw all of her belongings in the road. On July 29, the victim returned to the residence to collect her belongings, at which time Apachito allegedly attacked the victim, pushing her to the ground, kicking her in the stomach multiple times and choking her. The next morning, the victim called her mother and asked her to pick her up. The victim’s mother reported the domestic violence to BIA and the victim was transported to the Lincoln County Medica Center for treatment.

When interviewed by BIA officers, Apachito admitted to biting, hitting, choking, and pushing the victim.

A complaint is only an allegation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted on the current charge, Apachito faces up to 10 years imprisonment.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eliot Neal is prosecuting the case.

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