Navajo Man from Shiprock Sentenced to Prison for Federal Involuntary Manslaughter Conviction

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of New Mexico
17 August 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ALBUQUERQUE – Byron Harold Peshlakai, 26, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Shiprock, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., to 30 months in prison for his involuntary manslaughter conviction. Peshlakai will be on supervised release for three years after completing his prison sentence.

Peshlakai was arrested in Oct. 2016, on an indictment charging him with involuntary manslaughter. According to the indictment, Peshlakai killed the victim with his vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol on the Navajo Indian Reservation on Oct. 25, 2015.

On March 2, 2017, Peshlakai pled guilty to the indictment without the benefit of a plea agreement.

This case was investigated by the Farmington office of the FBI and the Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Murphy prosecuted the case.