Jemez Pueblo Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Voluntary Manslaughter Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Raymond Gachupin, 24, an enrolled member and resident of Jemez Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 78 months in prison for his conviction on a voluntary manslaughter charge.  Gachupin will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

The FBI and Jemez Pueblo Tribal Police Department arrested Gachupin in July 2016, on a criminal complaint charging him with killing a Jemez Pueblo man by suffocating him on July 1, 2016, in Jemez Pueblo in Sandoval County, N.M.  Gachupin subsequently was indicted on July 28, 2016, and was charged with second-degree murder.

On Jan. 19, 2018, Gachupin pled guilty to a felony information charging him with voluntary manslaughter.  In entering the guilty plea, Gachupin admitted that on July 1, 2016, he strangled the victim during a physical altercation.  Gachupin further admitted that the victim became unconscious, suffered a cardiac event, and died as the result of Gachupin’s actions.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI and the Jemez Pueblo Tribal Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph M. Spindle and Elisa Dimas prosecuted the case.