Navajo Man Sentenced to 74 Months in Prison for Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of New Mexico
2 December 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE – Farrell Bowman, 29, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fruitland, N.M., was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 74 months in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction. Bowman will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Bowman was arrested in Jan. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with involuntary manslaughter. According to the complaint, Bowman killed two Native American men with his vehicle when he crashed into their vehicle while he was driving under the influence of alcohol. The crash occurred on July 3, 2014, in a location within the Navajo Indian Reservation in San Juan County, N.M. Bowman was subsequently indicted on the same charges on Jan. 21, 2015.

On Aug. 12, 2015, Bowman pled guilty to the indictment and admitted killing the two victims by driving recklessly while under the influence of alcohol which rendered him incapable of exercising clear judgment and a steady hand in operating a vehicle. He also acknowledged that he operated the vehicle without using due caution and with a reckless disregard that imperiled the lives of others.

This case was investigated by the Shiprock office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety, the Farmington office of the FBI and the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquel Ruiz-Velez prosecuted the case.