A Sanostee man has been sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $8,000 in restitution following a guilty plea to two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The charges stem from a fatal drunk-driving crash on the Navajo Nation.
Court documents reveal that on August 12, 2023, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Leonardo Robbie Duncan, 33, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving under the influence on Navajo Route 36 near Upper Fruitland, New Mexico. He crossed into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with another vehicle occupied by Jane and John Doe.
After the crash, Duncan fled the scene on foot without assisting the victims. An off-duty Southern Ute Tribal police officer attempted to stop him but was unsuccessful. John Doe died at the scene while Jane Doe succumbed to her injuries en route to the hospital. Both victims were members of the Navajo Nation.
Duncan surrendered to Navajo Nation Police six hours after the incident. His blood-alcohol content at that time was measured at 0.08. At the time of the crash, Duncan was serving state probation for Battery on a Household Member and had recently violated this probation due to an open-container offense. He also had a prior conviction for Driving While Intoxicated dating back to 2018.
Following his release from prison, Duncan will be subject to three years of supervised release.
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office.
The case was investigated by the Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office with support from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations.