Two individuals were handed down substantial prison sentences last week for their involvement in a shooting incident targeting Hopi police officers during a high-speed chase, as Senior United States District Judge David G. Campbell ruled on the matter. Ryan Adelbert Johnson, 39, from Dilkon, received a 209-month sentence, which will be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. His counterpart, Mike Duffy, III, 41, from Ganado, was handed a sentence of 161 months and will similarly serve three years of supervised release after his imprisonment.
Following a five-day jury trial in September 2023, both Johnson and Duffy were convicted on two counts of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, with the additional convictions of Johnson for Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, and Duffy for Possession of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence. Moreover, as previously convicted felons, the pair each entered a guilty plea to one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the incident unfolded on February 3, 2021, when Johnson and Duffy ran a stop sign on the Hopi Indian Reservation and nearly caused a crash with a Hopi Law Enforcement Services (HLES) police vehicle.
In the ensuing pursuit, as Duffy took the wheel to flee from the officers, Johnson shot multiple rounds at the officers from an AM-15 rifle, narrowly missing them. The actions of Johnson and Duffy, both enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, escalated a traffic violation to an exchange of gunfire. In a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office, United States Attorney Gary Restaino said, "Too often law enforcement is confronted with gun violence as a part of their duties," Restaino added "This sentence sends a message that when the violence is directed at them, it will not be tolerated."
The seriousness of assaults against law enforcement officials was echoed by Daniel Mayo, acting special agent in charge of the FBI’s Phoenix Field Office, who commented on the incident's egregiousness. "This shooting was without justification and threatened the lives of police officers who work every day to keep their community safe," Mayo stated. "An attack like this has serious consequences as proven by the sentences handed down to the defendants." The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Phoenix Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hopi Law Enforcement Services, with additional support from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Navajo Division of Public Safety. The prosecution of the case was managed by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alanna Kennedy and Christina Reid-Moore, from the District of Arizona, Phoenix.
