Shiprock Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter

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 FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Keanu Marcel Upshaw was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Upshaw, 22, of Shiprock, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on April 6, 2023.

According to court documents, on Sept. 16, 2021, following a night of drinking, Upshaw lost control of the vehicle he was driving as he was attempting to take another drink of alcohol, causing it to crash and ejecting both Upshaw and his passenger from the vehicle. Upshaw’s passenger died from their injuries as a result of the crash. A blood draw taken about two hours after the accident showed that Upshaw’s blood alcohol concentration was .18, which is more than twice the legal limit in New Mexico. Accident reconstruction showed that Upshaw was going somewhere between 69 mph to 80 mph in a 55 mph zone when he lost control of the vehicle.

Upon his release from prison, Upshaw will be subject to 3 years of supervised release.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

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