Woman from Zuni Pueblo sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for assault in Indian Country

            ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kirsten Sandy, 38, and an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Zuni, was sentenced in federal court on April 1 to 41 months in prison for assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Indian Country.

            Sandy pleaded guilty to the offense on Feb. 5, 2020.  In her plea agreement, Sandy admitted to stabbing John Doe on May 1, 2014, in McKinley County, New Mexico, on the Zuni Pueblo. Sandy stabbed John Doe in the chest, causing severe lacerations and damaging the victim’s heart. As a result of the assault, the victim needed immediate open-heart surgery to save his life.

            The Zuni Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas Marshall and Allison Jaros prosecuted the case.