Ohkay Owingeh Woman Sentenced for Assaulting Tribal Officer

ALBUQUERQUE – Crystal Torres, 29, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 20 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for her assault with a dangerous weapon conviction.

Torres, a member and resident of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, was arrested on Feb. 14, 2013, on an indictment charging her with assaulting a woman with a hammer, and assaulting a man with a knife.  According to the indictment, both offenses occurred on Jan. 22, 2012, on Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo lands.  Court filings reflect that the victim of the second assault was an officer of the Ohkay Owingeh Tribal Police Department. 

On Nov. 19, 2013, Torres pled guilty to the second count of the indictment charging her with assault with a dangerous weapon, a knife.  According to Torres’s plea agreement, on Jan. 22, 2012, tribal officers were dispatched to Torres’s residence on Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo.  When the officers arrived, they observed Torres running towards a road and into traffic.  When the victim attempted to catch Torres to get her out of the lane of traffic after three vehicles nearly struck her, Torres pulled out a hunting knife and advanced toward the victim, ignoring the victim’s commands that she drop the knife.  

This case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Y. Ramirez.