Two Navajo Men and a Navajo Woman were Victims of Defendant’s Crimes
ALBUQUERQUE - Alcario DeLuna, 58, a non-Indian man from Hondo, Texas, pled guilty today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The victims of DeLuna’s crimes were two Navajo men, one of whom died, and a Navajo woman.
DeLuna was indicted on June 26, 2013, and charged with killing an Indian man and assaulting an Indian man and woman and causing them to suffer serious bodily injuries. According to the indictment, DeLuna committed these crimes while driving recklessly on May 21, 2011, in the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M.
During today’s proceedings, DeLuna pled guilty to the indictment under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. In entering the guilty plea, DeLuna admitted that on May 21, 2011, he killed a male victim and caused another male victim and a female victim to suffer serious bodily injuries by driving a semi-tractor and trailer in excess of the speed posted for a construction zone and failing to pay attention to the stopped traffic in front of him and causing a collision.
At sentencing, DeLuna faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison followed by up to three years of supervised release. A sentencing hearing has yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle T. Nayback.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
