A Navajo man has entered a guilty plea in a federal court for charges related to second-degree murder and firearms use in connection with a 2022 shooting incident. The plea was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office.
Court documents reveal that on July 26, 2022, officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department responded to reports of a shooting near Ojo Encino. Upon arrival, they found John Doe deceased with gunshot wounds to his chest and right arm. Witnesses identified Jason Lee Martinez, aged 51 and a member of the Navajo Nation, as the shooter who fled immediately after the incident.
Investigators recovered seven .40 caliber bullet casings at the scene. An autopsy confirmed that John Doe died from gunshot wounds consistent with a single bullet traveling through his chest, heart, lung, and liver.
On August 26, 2022, FBI agents interviewed Martinez, during which he admitted to shooting John Doe.
According to the plea agreement reached in court, Martinez faces between 17 and 28 years in prison at sentencing followed by three years of supervised release.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Albuquerque Field Office with assistance from both the Navajo Nation Department of Investigation and Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse Pecoraro is prosecuting this case.