Member of Jicarilla Apache Nation sentenced to nine years in prison for assault in Indian Country

            ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  – Quentin Veneno, Jr., 35, of Dulce, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, was sentenced on Aug. 18 to nine years and seven months in prison. On Sept. 22, 2020, following a two-day trial, a jury returned a guilty verdict on two counts of domestic assault by a habitual offender and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

           According to court records, on Aug. 22, 2018, and again on Nov. 2, 2018, Veneno physically abused Jane Doe, whom he was dating at the time, at her residence in Dulce on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation. As a result of Veneno’s assaults, Jane Doe suffered nine broken ribs and a collapsed lung as well as extreme pain and bruising over her entire body. Veneno had assaulted Jane Doe previously and had two prior convictions of domestic violence in 2009 and 2013.

           Upon his release from prison, Veneno will be subject to three years of supervised release.

           The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Jicarilla Apache Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Cowen and Kyle T. Nayback prosecuted the case.