ALBUQUERQUE - A grand jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M., has indicted Lyle Ryan Begaye, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation from Arizona, on an assault resulting in serious bodily injury charge.
The indictment alleges that Begaye assaulted a female victim on June 1, 2019, in Indian Country in Bernalillo County, N.M. Begaye was arraigned on the indictment on Aug. 13, 2019, in federal court in Albuquerque, and entered a not guilty plea. Yesterday, a U.S. Magistrate Judge ordered Begaye detained pending trial based on judicial findings that Begaye poses a danger to the community and a risk of flight.
Begaye initially was charged on June 3, 2019, in a criminal complaint which alleged that Begaye beat the victim approximately thirty times with a closed fist. According to the criminal complaint, the victim allegedly suffered four broken ribs and two fractured lumbar vertebrate in her spine as the result of the assault. The criminal complaint alleged that Begaye committed the crime on June 1, 2019, in To’hajiilee, which is located on the Navajo Indian Reservation in Bernalillo County, N.M.
On June 27, 2019, Begaye was indicted by a federal grand jury. The FBI arrested Begaye in Phoenix, AZ, on July 23, 2019, and the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to transport Begaye to New Mexico to face the charge in the indictment.
If convicted on the charge in the indictment, Begaye faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years of imprisonment. Charges in criminal complaints and indictments are only accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Albuquerque office of the FBI investigated this case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Aliberti is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
