Mescalero man sentenced to two years in prison for assault

              ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Edmond Andrew Yahnahki Shanta, 23, of Mescalero, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, was sentenced on March 3 in federal court to two years and four months in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country. Shanta pleaded guilty to the crime on June 4, 2020.

              According to his plea agreement, Shanta assaulted the victim on July 13, 2019, in Otero County, New Mexico, on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. Shanta struck the victim in the face with a rock causing a deep cut and several fractures. After being airlifted to a Level 1 Trauma Center in El Paso, Texas, the victim needed surgery and four days of medical care for injuries sustained in the assault.

             Upon his release from prison, Shanta will be subject to two years of supervised release.

             The FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Assistant U.S Attorney Aaron O. Jordan is prosecuting the case.