U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Sentencing of Mentmore Man for Federal Firearms Violation After Domestic Violence Incident

ALBUQUERQUE – A Mentmore man was sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for federal firearms offenses following a domestic violence incident during which he assaulted his wife and kidnapped their four children.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on the morning of September 23, 2021, Rumaldo Peshlakai's wife reported to the Navajo Nation Police Department that she had been assaulted by Peshlakai, 43, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He then fled their home with their four children, ages 10, 7, 5, and 2, in his wife’s vehicle. The wife informed police that Peshlakai was likely under the influence of alcohol and cocaine, armed with a firearm, and had threatened to shoot officers if they attempted to stop him.

A multi-agency search ensued, involving the Navajo Nation Police Department, FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U.S. Marshals Service. Peshlakai evaded law enforcement for several hours, traversing over six miles on foot and at one point hiding the children in a drainage culvert. Along the way, Peshlakai buried the firearms under a tree along the path they walked and covered the hole with leaves and branches in an attempt to conceal them. Peshlakai eventually left the children at his mother’s home in Fort Defiance, Arizona, before turning himself in the next day, on September 24, 2021.

Following Peshlakai’s arrest, with the assistance of a specially-trained K-9 gun-sniffing canine, law enforcement recovered three firearms – two handguns and a rifle – that he had buried during his escape. As a previously convicted felon – including a prior federal conviction for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, Peshlakai was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

Upon his release from prison, Peshlakai will be subject to three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit the firearms and ammunition, which included a Glock 19 9mm handgun, a Phoenix Arms .25 Automatic Colt pistol, a Marlin .22 caliber rifle, and various calibers and brands of ammunition.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations investigated this case with assistance from the FBI Phoenix Field Office, United States Marshals Service, New Mexico State Police, McKinley County Sheriff's Office and Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander F. Flores and Kimberly Bell are prosecuting the case.

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