A Crownpoint man pleaded guilty on Mar. 13 in federal court to charges of strangling a woman and assaulting a tribal police officer with a taser.
The case highlights the serious nature of domestic violence and assaults against law enforcement officers within the Navajo Nation.
According to court documents, Jason K. Thompson, 40, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, attempted to strangle Jane Doe on March 18, 2025. When law enforcement responded to the domestic violence call and tried to take Thompson into custody, he struggled with a Navajo Nation Police Department officer, grabbed the officer’s taser, and used it against him with intent to injure. After being handcuffed and placed in a patrol unit, Thompson kicked out a window and escaped but was recaptured by officers later that night.
Thompson pleaded guilty to assault by strangulation and assault with a deadly weapon. He faces up to ten years in prison at sentencing.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office, announced the plea agreement. The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with help from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Probasco is prosecuting.
