Navajo Woman from Crownpoint Pleads Guilty to Federal Involuntary Manslaughter Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Valerie Cayatineto, 40, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Crownpoint, N.M., pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an involuntary manslaughter charge.

Cayatineto was arrested in Jan. 2017, on a criminal complaint charging her with involuntary manslaughter. According to the complaint, Cayatineto killed a Navajo man when she crashed her vehicle head-on into the victim’s vehicle on Dec. 9, 2016, on the Navajo Indian reservation in McKinley County, N.M. At the time of the crash, Cayatineto was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Cayatineto subsequently was indicted on Feb. 7, 2017, and charged with involuntary manslaughter.

During today’s proceedings, Cayatineto pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement. At sentencing, Cayatineto faces a maximum penalty of eight years in federal prison. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Gallup office of the FBI and the the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elisa Dimas is prosecuting the case.