Shiprock Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Drug and Firearms Offenses

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Jason E. Begay was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Begay, 42, of Shiprock, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty on Jan. 24 to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams of methamphetamine, felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, possessing a firearm in furtherance of such crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to court records, on January 23, 2023, Begay admitted that on November 14, 2022, he was found by Navajo Nation Police Department officers in a vehicle with a black handgun, and multiple plastic bags with methamphetamine.  The total weight of the plastic bags was 6.8 pounds. Begay admitted to having the firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Begay also admitted to being a convicted felon who knew that it was not lawful to possess a firearm or ammunition.

Upon his release from prison, Begay will be subject to 5 years of supervised release.

FBI investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Robert James Booth II is prosecuting the case.

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