Sheep Springs, N.M., Man Sentenced to Four Years in Federal Prison for Assault Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – This morning, Jason Allen Hunter, 46, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Sheep Springs, N.M., was sentenced to four years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on assault charges. 

On Nov. 14, 2012, Hunter pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.  In entering his guilty plea, Hunter admitted that, on May 9, 2009, he fired a shotgun at two people in a truck as it drove past him.  Three small children were in the truck when Hunter fired the shots.  Hunter further admitted that, at the time he fired shots at the truck, he intended to cause those individuals bodily injury.  Hunter committed these unlawful acts near his home, which is located just outside Sheep Springs on the Navajo Indian Reservation.  Hunter has been in federal custody since entering his guilty plea.

This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety with assistance from the Farmington office of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark T. Baker and Kyle T. Nayback.