Taos Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault Charges

ALBUQUERQUE—Julian Concha, 26, a member and resident of Taos Pueblo, N.M., pleaded guilty this morning in Albuquerque, N.M., to federal assault charges.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, he will be sentenced to 37 months in prison followed by a term of supervised release to be determined by the court.

Concha was arrested on Feb. 13, 2015, on an indictment charging him assault resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon.  The indictment alleged that the crimes were committed on Jan 15, 2013, in Taos Pueblo in Taos County, N.M.

During today’s proceedings, Concha pled guilty to a felony information charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault by striking, beating or wounding.  Concha admitted that on Jan. 15, 2013, he assaulted a woman by striking her on the face and head resulting in permanent damage to her left eye, and he assaulted a man by striking, beating and wounding the man’s face and head.

A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.

This case was investigated by Northern Pueblos Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Taos Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristopher N. Houghton and Niki Tapia-Brito are prosecuting the case.

The case was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women, and is another step in the Justice Department's on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.