A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Chevel Cottonwood, 34, of San Juan County, with second degree murder after he allegedly shot a man to death in San Juan County, Utah.
The indictment was returned on June 11, 2025, and follows an initial complaint filed on the same date. Chevel Cottonwood was ordered detained by a U.S. Magistrate Judge after being charged with the crime.
According to court documents, the shooting occurred on June 10, 2025, in the Hovenweep area north of Aneth, Utah, within the Navajo Nation. Navajo Police Department Officers responded to a 911 call reporting gunfire and found the victim deceased with a gunshot wound.
A woman who was at the residence at the time of the shooting described hearing gunshots from the living room and recalled hearing Cottonwood and the victim arguing. She then went to the living room and saw the victim laying on the floor bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound.
Responding officers entered the residence and found the victim deceased with a gunshot wound and an empty shell casing next to him. Chevel Cottonwood was found hiding in nearby bushes with a loaded magazine and ammunition. A search warrant was executed, and officers seized a 9mm pistol and two 9mm shell casings.
Chevel Cottonwood is charged with second degree murder while within Indian Country and being a restricted person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for June 26, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. in courtroom 7.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
The case is being investigated jointly by the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Monticello Resident Agency. Assistant United States Attorneys Sam Pead and Tanner Zumwalt of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative aimed at repelling the invasion of illegal immigration, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime.
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Key Facts
- State: Utah
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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