Siblings Blast Victims in Taos Pueblo Drive-By

Two siblings from Picuris Pueblo opened fire on a civilian vehicle in a violent 2016 drive-by shooting in Taos Pueblo, N.M., leaving a man wounded with gunshot and shrapnel injuries. Steven Archuleta, 26, and his sister, Cheryl Shemayme-Archuleta, 32, both members and residents of Picuris Pueblo, pleaded guilty on Jan. 6, 2017, in federal court in Albuquerque to assault and firearms charges tied to the ambush-style attack.

Archuleta was arrested on July 21, 2016, after a criminal complaint accused him of assaulting a non-Indian man and woman with a dangerous weapon and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence on July 17, 2016, in Indian Country within Taos County. According to court documents, Archuleta fired four rounds from a moving vehicle at the victims’ car, striking the male victim in the leg, groin, and back. The attack left the man with serious bodily injury requiring immediate medical intervention.

The case escalated when a four-count indictment was returned on Aug. 10, 2016, charging Archuleta with multiple counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, causing serious bodily injury, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Shemayme-Archuleta was charged with aiding and abetting all four counts, accused of knowingly assisting her brother in the attack by retrieving the firearm and driving the getaway vehicle during the shooting.

On Jan. 6, 2017, Archuleta entered a guilty plea to a felony information for assault resulting in serious bodily injury and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. In court, he admitted to firing the shots and confirmed that Shemayme-Archuleta was behind the wheel of the vehicle during the attack. He now faces 84 to 156 months in federal prison, with sentencing pending.

Shemayme-Archuleta also pleaded guilty on the same day to aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. She admitted in her plea that she picked up the weapon knowing it would be used in the assault and drove her brother to and from the scene. As a result, she faces a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison. Both defendants remain in custody awaiting sentencing.

The case was investigated by the Northern Pueblos Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David Adams. The attack underscores ongoing tensions and jurisdictional complexities in Indian Country, where violent crimes involving firearms continue to challenge federal, tribal, and local law enforcement.