Navajo Man Sentenced to Eight Years for Voluntary Manslaughter

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 Jameson Begaye was sentenced to 97 months in prison. Begaye, 44, of Shiprock, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty on August 26, 2022, to voluntary manslaughter. 

According to the plea agreement and court records, on March 7, 2021, in Shiprock, New Mexico, Begaye killed K.B. by shooting him in the chest, abdomen, and pelvis as Begaye was trying to forcefully enter the home of K.B.’s daughter, who was also Begaye’s ex-girlfriend. After shooting and killing K.B., Begaye fled the scene. Officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department were unable to locate Begaye that night but spotted his car outside Shiprock the following day. Begaye again fled from officers. During the ensuing high-speed pursuit, which reached speeds of 112 miles per hour, officers saw Begaye throw an object from the window of his car. Begaye also fired multiple gunshots from the car toward the officers. One round struck an officer’s windshield. Begaye eventually stopped and was arrested. When officers searched the roadway near the area police observed something being thrown from the car, they located the handgun used to kill K.B.

Upon his release from prison, Begaye faces three 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 Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary C. Jones prosecuted the case.

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