22-year-old Mexican to spend over six years in prison for manslaughter
A Mexican Springs man, Quinten Smith, has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for manslaughter.
United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Alexander M.M. Uballez, disclosed this on Wednesday November 7
9, 2022.
Uballez announced that Smith, 22, of Mexican Springs, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on Nov. 7 to six years and six months in prison for manslaughter in Indian Country.
Smith pleaded guilty on May 16.
According to court documents, on Sept. 24, 2021, Smith and other family members went to the home of the victim, identified as John Doe, to confront him for allegedly assaulting Smith’s mother.
When they arrived at the home, a physical altercation ensued. During the fight, Smith stabbed the victim multiple times in the back with a pocketknife. Smith and the others fled the home immediately, court documents revealed.
It was also reported that John Doe, who was also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was found deceased in his home later that day. The killing occurred on the Navajo Nation.
Upon his release from prison, Smith will be subject to three years of supervised release.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the Navajo Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall prosecuted the case.