Navajo Man Cops to DUI Assault, Gets 41 Months

Gregory Secatero, 33, a Navajo Nation member from Albuquerque, N.M., is headed to federal prison for 41 months after admitting to driving drunk and causing a violent crash that left a woman and a child with life-threatening injuries on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The January 2015 wreck tore through the quiet of Bernalillo County like a bomb, exposing the brutal cost of alcohol-fueled recklessness in Indian Country.

On Jan. 17, 2015, Secatero lost control of his vehicle while intoxicated, sending it careening off the road and ejecting two passengers. The woman suffered a punctured left lung and seven fractured ribs. The child suffered a subdural hematoma and a spiral fracture in the left femur — injuries that could have easily turned fatal. Two other children in the back seat walked away with minor harm, spared only by chance.

Arrested on Feb. 12, 2015, Secatero was initially charged with assault resulting in serious bodily injury and child abuse in Indian Country. Prosecutors said the crash occurred on tribal land, placing the case under federal jurisdiction. The indictment, filed March 10, 2015, added a third count: child abuse for endangering the lives of three minors during the incident.

After more than a year of legal maneuvering, Secatero pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2016, to two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In court, he admitted to operating the vehicle under the influence of alcohol, directly causing the violent impact and the victims’ suffering. No excuses. No denial. Just a guilty plea carved out of cold facts and medical records.

Federal prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Shammara Henderson, pushed for accountability in a system that often struggles to bring justice to remote corners of Indian Country. The Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety led the investigation, piecing together evidence from the crash site and medical reports to build a case that left no room for doubt.

Sentenced this morning in Albuquerque federal court, Secatero will serve 41 months behind bars, followed by three years of supervised release. The punishment reflects the gravity of driving drunk and turning a family ride into a catastrophe. For the victims, it’s a sliver of closure. For the community, it’s a warning: in Indian Country, the law is watching.

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