Acoma Pueblo Man Gets 57 Months for Choking Intimate Partner

Darrell Chino, Jr., 34, of Acomita, N.M., was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison Wednesday in Albuquerque for choking and attacking his intimate partner on tribal land—an act prosecutors say is part of a brutal, repeated pattern of violence. The Acoma Pueblo member will also face three years of supervised release following his incarceration after pleading guilty to domestic assault by a habitual offender.

The assault occurred August 18, 2015, in Cibola County, on Acoma Pueblo land, when Chino allegedly placed his hands around the woman’s throat, shoved her to the ground, and attempted to kick her. The victim, a fellow enrolled member of Acoma Pueblo, suffered visible bodily injury. Chino was arrested weeks later, on September 23, 2015, following a criminal complaint filed in federal court.

Court records show Chino had already been convicted twice for assault against a household member—once in 2011 and again in 2012—in the 2nd Judicial District Court of New Mexico. Those convictions triggered the habitual offender enhancement, elevating the crime to a federal felony under laws targeting repeat domestic abusers in Indian Country.

On April 7, 2016, Chino pled guilty to a felony information admitting he grabbed the woman’s throat and threw her to the ground. He acknowledged both the assault and his prior convictions, which sealed his fate under federal sentencing guidelines. The prosecution emphasized that Chino’s history shows a dangerous disregard for the safety of those closest to him.

The case was investigated by the Laguna/Acoma Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services and the Acoma Pueblo Tribal Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mease handled the prosecution, underscoring federal-tribal cooperation in holding violent offenders accountable where tribal jurisdictions have limited sentencing power.

This prosecution emerged from the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project, a Justice Department initiative funded by the Office on Violence Against Women and administered through the Pueblo of Laguna. The program trains tribal prosecutors to build stronger federal cases, aiming to close jurisdictional gaps that often allow violent offenders to evade serious consequences. In Chino’s case, it ensured justice wasn’t delayed—or denied.

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