Shiprock Man Sentenced to 78 Months in Prison for Attempting to Kill His Common-Law Wife

ALBUQUERQUE—This afternoon in federal court in Santa Fe, Michael Harrison, 29, a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, New Mexico, was sentenced to a 78-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for his conviction on an assault with intent to commit murder charge.

Harrison was arrested on federal assault charges on October 7, 2010 and has been in custody since that time. On October 27, 2010, he was charged in a four-count indictment with: (1) assault with intent to commit murder; (2) assault with a dangerous weapon; (3) assault resulting in serious bodily injury; and (4) abandonment or abuse of a child. On April 19, 2011, Harrison pled guilty to count one of the indictment. In his plea agreement, Harrison admitted that he attempted to murder his common-law wife, also a member of the Navajo Nation, by slashing her throat on September 23, 2010. The remaining three counts of the indictment against Harrison were dismissed at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that the case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety, Shiprock Division, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rozzoni.

Man Sentenced to Serve Over 20 Years in Federal Prison for Interstate Domestic Violence Crimes

The Victim Suffered Repeated Violent Beatings for Six Days

CHARLOTTE, NC—Robbie Paul Howell, 32, of Lansing, N.C., was sentenced on June 14, 2011, by U.S. District Judge Richard L. Voorhees to serve 250 months in federal prison based on convictions for interstate domestic violence in violation of the Violence Against Women Act and kidnapping, announced U.S. Attorney Anne M. Tompkins of the Western District of North Carolina.

U.S. Attorney Tompkins is joined in making today’s announcement by Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Charlotte Division, and Sheriff James Williams of the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office. A federal grand jury indicted Howell on interstate domestic violence and kidnapping charges in March 2010. His federal trial began on August 24, 2010. Following three days of evidence, the jury convicted Howell on both charges. Testimony at trial established that Howell, who worked as a truck driver, forced his wife and their two-year-old daughter to accompany him on a six-day interstate trucking trip from North Carolina to California, and back through Oklahoma, where the truck was stopped by local police. According to the evidence presented at trial, Howell repeatedly subjected his wife to domestic violence during that six-day trip, including beating her with a Mag flashlight, suffocating her, and punching her in the face and all over her body with his fists in the presence of their two-year-old child.

Trial evidence suggested that Howell thought he was beyond the reach of the law because he committed his violent crimes in different states during the six days he held his wife hostage and subjected her to repeated brutal physical assaults. When Howell was interviewed by law enforcement officers following his crimes, he bragged to Ashe County detectives that he could not be prosecuted because he was not in their county when he beat the victim. One witness testified also that Howell boasted that law enforcement, “Ain’t got nothing on me. They don’t know what state I was in. They can’t do nothing to me.” At the sentencing hearing, Judge Voorhees said that the confinement of Howell’s wife could “only be described as imprisonment in the cab of the truck for six days.” In pronouncing the twentyplus year federal prison sentence, Judge Voorhees called Howell’s conduct, “cruel and prolonged, merciless and calculating.” Judge Voorhees added that the severe sentence was warranted because of the “cruel and inhuman nature” of the crime, and the “horrendous actual nightmare that the victim suffered.”

“The Violence Against Women Act was enacted to prosecute interstate domestic abusers like Robbie Howell,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins. “Howell stupidly thought he was shielded from justice because he committed his crimes across various state lines. Now he has twenty years to contemplate his violent conduct against a vulnerable victim of abuse. This sentence sends a message to victims of interstate domestic violence that our office will work with our federal, state, and local partners to protect their rights, and to ensure that perpetrators of domestic abuse are prosecuted and receive the maximum punishment for their crimes,” Tompkins added. “Criminals always believe there is a way to side-step the laws of our country, but our justice system is built on the foundation that no one is above those laws. This man put a woman and her two-year-old child through hell for six days; his long punishment is fitting for his crime,” said Chris Briese, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina.

“I’ve been in law enforcement for 39 years and this is one of the most heinous and cruel cases of abuse and beating of a person I have ever seen,” Sheriff Williams stated. “I am glad that Howell received the amount of prison time he did. He deserves every day of it, and hope he does every day of it,” Sheriff Williams added. Howell has been in local federal custody in the Western District of North Carolina since his initial appearance on the federal charges on March 11, 2010. Upon designation of a federal facility, he will be transferred into custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The investigation was led by the FBI with the assistance of the Ashe County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution for the government was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimlani Ford and Kurt Meyers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte. Victims of interstate domestic violence are encouraged to contact their United States Attorney’s Office. For more information on the Department of Justice’s efforts to end domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, please visit: http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/

Mescalero Apache Man Sentenced to 27 Months’ Imprisonment for Assaulting Common-Law Wife with Dangerous Weapons

Defendant Used Steel-Toed Boots to Fracture Victim’s Jaw

LAS CRUCES—Today in federal court in Las Cruces, Dennett Jerome Chee, 24, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, was sentenced to a 27-month term of imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release for his assault with dangerous weapons conviction. Chee also was ordered to pay $29,399.97 in restitution to the medical providers who provided medical care to the victim of his assault.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Chee was convicted of assaulting his common-law wife (Victim) by kicking her in the jaw with steel-toed forestry boots in the couple’s home on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation on March 6, 2010. Chee was charged by criminal complaint on June 9, 2010, and entered a guilty plea to an information charging him with assault with dangerous weapons with intent to cause bodily harm on January 4, 2011. Chee has been in federal custody since his arrest on September 15, 2010.

According to the criminal complaint, an officer of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) learned of the assault on March 6, 2010, when he was contacted by medical staff at the Lincoln County Medical Center (LCMC) in Ruidoso, New Mexico, where the Victim was treated for her injuries, which included a compound jaw fracture. The Victim initially claimed to be assaulted by another woman at a party. This claim was not credited by medical personnel or the BIA officer who responded to the call (i) due to the force required to cause the compound jaw fracture, and (ii) because the officer was aware of a history of domestic violence within the Chee household.

After the BIA referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for further investigation, the Victim admitted that Chee kicked her in the face with his forestry boot during a physical altercation between the couple on the night of March 6, 2010. The Victim apparently lost consciousness after Chee kicked her and woke the next morning to find blood on her clothing and bed. The Victim did not realize her jaw was broken until she attempted to drink water and found that her mouth hurt and would not close properly. After she attempted to close her mouth and heard bones in her jaw “clicking” together, the Victim woke Chee and let him know that she required medical attention. Chee arranged for a neighbor to take the Victim to the LCMC where she was treated for compound jaw fracture and then was transferred to the University Medical Center in El Paso, Texas for a surgical repair of her jaw.

The complaint alleges that, before the neighbor took the Victim to the LCMC, Chee admonished the Victim to lie about the cause of her injuries by claiming that she got into a fight with another female at a party. The Victim agreed to do so because she was afraid of Chee. The Victim agreed to provide a truthful statement only after her family prevailed upon her to do so and despite repeated calls from Chee while she was hospitalized during which he threatened to harm her and her family if she revealed that he caused her injuries. The Victim’s statements regarding Chee’s culpability were supported by witnesses, including a witness who heard Chee say, “I think I broke my chick’s jaw.”

According to the complaint, Chee fled the area after assaulting the Victim and was arrested by the BIA on tribal charges on May 18, 2010. During his period of flight, Chee periodically visited his home and had contact with the Victim, who did not notify the authorities of his visits.

In his plea agreement, Chee admitted assaulting the Victim with dangerous weapons, which he identified as his steel-toed forestry boot. Chee also admitted that the Victim sustained serious bodily injury as a result of the assault.

The case was investigated by the FBI and BIA, Office of Justice Services, Mescalero Agency, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mick I.R. Gutierrez.

Mescalero Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Assault Charges

LAS CRUCES—Earlier today in federal court in Las Cruces, Gene Collins Ahidley, 28, pled guilty to a two-count indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon. Ahidley, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation, was arrested on September 15, 2010 and remains in federal custody pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, Ahidley faces up to 10 years of imprisonment on each assault offense.

United States Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said that Ahidley pled guilty to assaulting his victim with his fists, feet, and a tree branch on August 24, 2006, on the Mescalero Apache Reservation. According to the criminal complaint, on that date, Ahidley drove the victim—his girlfriend and mother of his children—to a remote location behind the Pena Housing Area where he assaulted her by repeatedly punching her in the face, kneeing her in the body and face, and kicking her legs and back. Ahidley then found a 30-inch long and three-inch thick tree branch and used it to strike his victim on the legs, the face, and back of her head. When the attack began, the victim was holding the couple’s 2-year-old child. The complaint alleged that the victim suffered injuries to her head, neck, torso, and legs.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Mescalero Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.

Assault of Domestic Partner

Ute Indian Tribe Member Faces Domestic Violence Charge After Alleged Assault of Domestic Partner Indictment Charges Shavanaux Is a Habitual Domestic Violence Offender After Two Previous Convictions


SALT LAKE CITY—Adam Shavanaux, 36, an enrolled member of the Ute Indian Tribe, will be in federal court Wednesday morning for an initial appearance on an indictment charging him with one count of domestic assault by an habitual offender while within Indian Country.

Shavanaux, who is in custody, will appear in U.S. Magistrate Judge Sam Alba’s court at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. The potential maximum penalty for the charge is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Defendants charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.

The indictment, returned by a federal grand jury on May 24, 2010, alleges Shavanaux assaulted a domestic partner on Jan. 10, 2010. According to the indictment, Shavanaux has two previous convictions for assault on a domestic partner.

We are committed to using every tool we have to address domestic violence on Native American reservations in Utah. The charge in this indictment—domestic assault by a habitual offender—is appropriate given the ongoing conduct of this defendant,” Acting U.S. Attorney Carlie Christensen said today.

Ute tribal police officers responded to a home in Ft. Duchesne after the victim of the alleged assault was able to escape from the home and seek assistance. The victim was transported to the hospital. The FBI also is assisting in the investigation.