Member of the Isleta Pueblo pleads guilty to federal assault charge

               ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Stephen Johnson, 35, of the Pueblo of Isleta, pleaded guilty in federal court today to domestic assault by a habitual offender in Indian Country.

              A grand jury indicted Johnson on Sept. 10, 2020. In his plea agreement, Johnson admitted to committing the offense on the Pueblo of Isleta on July 1, 2019. Johnson assaulted Jane Doe 2, his girlfriend at the time, after he had returned home from drinking. While Jane Doe 2 was packing her belongings to leave, Johnson threw a child’s chair at her, hitting her and bouncing off her and hitting Jane Doe 1 on the head, causing a small laceration above Jane Doe 1’s eyebrow.

              Johnson is currently in custody pending sentencing. He faces up to five years in prison.

             The Isleta Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Marshall is prosecuting the case.