Richelle Rose Upshaw, Violent Assault, New Mexico 2024

A Fruitland woman was sentenced to 33 months in prison for a violent incident that left her victim with serious head injuries in February 2023.

On October 17, 2024, Richelle Rose Upshaw, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to both counts in the indictment, which charged her with two felonies—assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon.

According to court documents, on February 21, 2023, Upshaw and three other women embarked on a nearly 23-mile trek from the Journey Inn in Farmington to Upshaw’s trailer on the Navajo Nation. The group engaged in multiple physical fights with each other during their journey, reportedly fueled by alcohol consumption.

Upon arrival at the trailer, tensions escalated when Upshaw demanded the other women leave. Upshaw then engaged in a fistfight with Jane Doe, which culminated in Upshaw stabbing Doe in the head with her pocketknife.

Photo of Upshaw’s knife with three-inch blade

Following the stabbing, Jane Doe was transported to the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock, where she was treated for serious injuries.

Upshaw fled the scene and was arrested later that day by officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department at a nearby residence, where officers noted a strong odor of alcohol on her.

Upon her release from prison, Upshaw will be subject to three years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Navajo Nation Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorneys Zachary C. Jones and Meg Tomlinson are prosecuting the case.

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