A 40-year-old Tohatchi man is facing a federal murder charge after a chase through a Navajo Nation community ended with a fatal gunshot in an arroyo. Jason Duboise told investigators he only meant to fire a warning shot into the air, but prosecutors say he pointed his pistol at the victim before pulling the trigger.
Federal prosecutors have charged Duboise in connection with the fatal Sept. 7 shooting, according to Yahoo News. The shooting happened in an arroyo in Yah-Ta-Hey, a small Navajo community north of Gallup, and left a member of the Navajo Nation dead. Duboise was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting, as first reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
A Chase Through the Arroyo
Witnesses told investigators that Duboise and several family members had chased the victim into the arroyo after the man harassed Duboise's sister-in-law, who is described in the complaint as his ex-girlfriend. The same witnesses said one of the family members carried a rope while chasing the man, who they alleged had thrown rocks at the ex-girlfriend's car, per the account relayed by Yahoo News.
According to the criminal complaint, Duboise admitted to investigators that he shot the man. He told them the man was about to throw a rock at one of Duboise's family members when he fired. Duboise said he had only intended to shoot a warning shot into the air, the complaint states, though prosecutors allege he was pointing his pistol at the man when he pulled the trigger.
No Call to Police, Then an FBI Response
None of the family members who were present at the shooting called police afterward, the complaint says. FBI officials were called to the scene the day after the shooting, according to court records cited in the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office has not released the name of the victim, who prosecutors noted was a member of the Navajo Nation.
Duboise was arrested on Sept. 11 and remained in federal custody as of Sept. 15, the outlet's report indicates. The federal case is being handled as a homicide on tribal land, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico describes it simply as a Tohatchi man facing federal charges for allegedly shooting and killing another man during a confrontation in an arroyo.
Much of what is publicly known about the shooting comes from witness accounts summarized in the criminal complaint, and key details — including the victim's identity and the full sequence of events leading up to the confrontation — have not been made public. The case remains active as Duboise stays in federal custody awaiting further proceedings.
