Navajo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Jeremiah Burns, 33, a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was sentenced this morning to 20 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for his involuntary manslaughter conviction.  Burns also was ordered to pay $2080.25 to cover funeral expenses for the victim of his criminal conduct.

Burns was arrested in Aug. 2013, based on an indictment charging him with killing a man on Oct. 22, 2011, while driving under the influence of alcohol within the Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation. 

On Jan. 3, 2014, Burns pled guilty to the indictment and admitted killing the victim while driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana which rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in handling a vehicle.  Burns acknowledged operating the vehicle without due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.   

Burns was ordered to surrender himself by noon today to the U.S. Marshals Service to begin serving his prison sentence.

The case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.