Utah Man Sentenced to 35 Months for Violent Assaults Including on Federal Officers
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Utah announced that Zane C. Yazzie, 33, of Aneth, in San Juan County, Utah, was sentenced to 35 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for a series of violent assaults that included attacks on federal officers who responded to intervene.
Yazzie pleaded guilty on July 9, 2026, to assault resulting in serious bodily injury while within Indian Country, assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm while within Indian Country, and assault on a federal officer. U.S. District Court Judge Anne Marie McIff Allen imposed the sentence.
According to court documents and statements made at his plea and sentencing hearings, between March 5 and March 9, 2026, within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation Reservation, Yazzie assaulted a female victim over the course of several days, punching her in the face and breaking her nose, strangling her with his hands, and threatening her with a firearm. During the same period and at the same location, he struck a second victim over the head with a stick while the victim was sleeping, and on March 9 held a knife to that victim's throat and said he was going to slit it.
That same day, when law enforcement responded to a report related to the assaults, Yazzie assaulted federal officers with the Bureau of Indian Affairs by attempting to strike them with his fist.
"Today's sentence reflects the seriousness of Yazzie's violent spree," said U.S. Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah. "We are grateful the victims in this case are recovering, and we hope they can find some measure of peace knowing the defendant remains in custody." Robert Bohls, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Salt Lake City Field Office, said violence has no place in communities and that justice will hold accountable those who threaten the safety of people who live and work on tribal lands.
The case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office's Monticello Resident Agency. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brady Wilson and Sam Pead prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
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