ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – A brutal assault in Shiprock has landed a 27-year-old man behind bars for 41 months. Tyrell Elliot Frank, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison to be followed by two years of supervised release for his assault conviction.
Frank was arrested in April 2012, based on a criminal complaint charging him with assault. He subsequently was indicted and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to court filings, on April 1, 2012, Frank repeatedly struck another Navajo man with a machete. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered severe cuts to his left arm and his back.
In Aug. 2013, Frank pleaded guilty to Count 2 of the indictment, charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. In his plea agreement, Frank admitted that during the early hours of April 1, 2012, people arrived at his residence and approached him. Frank stated that, because he recently had been released from the hospital after having been assaulted, he struck a person he did not know with a machete causing him serious bodily injury. Frank stated that he later learned that the victim did not intend to harm him.
This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard.
Frank, 27, resides in Shiprock, N.M. and is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. He was arrested in April 2012 based on a criminal complaint charging him with assault.
The victim of the assault suffered severe cuts to his left arm and his back as a result of the machete attack on April 1, 2012.
The Farmington office of the FBI and the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety investigated the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Wishard prosecuted it.
Related Federal Cases
- Preston Marmolejo, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, New Mexico 2013 · New Mexico
- Henderson Castillo, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily Harm, New Mexico 2015 · Puerto Rico
- Cornelia Tom Tapaha, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, New Mexico 2015 · Wyoming
- Corinne Delphine Kinzhuma, Assault with a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Do Bodily Harm, New Mexico 2014 · New Mexico
- Jason K. Thompson, Assault by Strangulation and Assault with a Deadly Weapon, New Mexico 2025 · Texas
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Violent CrimeViolent CrimeViolent CrimeViolent Crime