A 28-year-old Shiprock woman has been charged with a federal firearms offense after allegedly buying a gun on behalf of another person, which was later used in a murder during a violent crime spree in Gallup, New Mexico.
Brittania Navaho, 28, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, appeared before a federal judge and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled.
According to the indictment, on April 24, 2024, Navaho knowingly purchased a firearm on behalf of another person, knowing that person intended to use the firearm in furtherance of a felony.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Navajo Nation Police Department, the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations and the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney R. Eliot Neal is prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice’s Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) Regional Outreach Program, which aims to aid in the prevention and response to missing or murdered Indigenous people through the resolution of MMIP cases and communication, coordination, and collaboration with federal, Tribal, state, and local partners.
Navaho faces up to 25 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release if convicted of the current charges. The case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and the President signed in June 2022.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The prosecution of this case upholds the Department’s mission to the unwavering pursuit of justice on behalf of Indigenous victims and their families.
U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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