Shiprock Man Sentenced for 2018 DUI Crash

ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock man was sentenced to 37 months in prison after a drunk driving crash critically injured his passenger.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on January 11, 2018, Philbert Wayne Mark, 46, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving at high rates of speed while highly intoxicated when he failed to navigate a turn. The vehicle flipped and rolled for 174 feet, ejecting and critically injuring his passenger. At the hospital, Mark had a blood alcohol content of .396.

Mark pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Upon his release from prison, Mark will be subject to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Amy Mondragon is prosecuting the case.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.