Zuni Man Pleads Guilty to Voluntary 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 that Brian Wallace pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Wallace, 44, of Zuni, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.

In his plea agreement, Wallace admitted that he killed the victim, identified as John Doe, sometime between July 5, 2022, and August 9, 2022, and buried him in a shallow grave in the backyard of a friend’s house. In October of 2022, Wallace informed law enforcement of what had happened and where John Doe’s body was located. The body was recovered and the Office of Medical Investigator determined that John Doe had died from blunt force trauma to his chest.

By the terms of the plea agreement, Wallace faces up to 12 years in prison.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Zuni Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

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