Press Release
Navajo Man from Shiprock Sentenced to Prison for Firearms Offenses, Including Discharging Weapon Near a School
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE – Eric Multine, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 60 months in prison for unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition, and discharging a firearm near a school. Multine will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.
The FBI arrested Multine on Dec. 26, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm on Dec. 20, 2017, on the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M. According to the complaint, officers of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety (NNDPS) responded to a shots fired call for service near an elementary school on the Navajo Indian Reservation on Dec. 20, 2017. The NNDPS officers arrested Multine on tribal charges and found a firearm in his pocket incident to the arrest. Multine was federally charged after it was determined that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition because of his prior conviction for possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
On March 16, 2018, Multine pled guilty to a two-count felony information charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and with discharging a firearm in a school zone. In entering the guilty plea, Multine admitted being unlawfully in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Dec. 20, 2017, despite his status as a convicted felon. Multine also admitted discharging the firearm within 1,000 feet of an elementary school.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the NNDPS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback prosecuted the case.
Updated October 17, 2018
Topics
Firearms Offenses
Indian Country Law and Justice
Component