A Sanostee man was given 12 years in prison for the 2022 drunken beating death of a man.
Tyrone Atcitty Nez, 34, entered a plea agreement and admitted to the June 8, 2022, beating of his friend, who had come to his home to help repair a water heater.
Nez admitted that during the visit the two “were drinking together and rough housing,” according to court documents.
Nez said in court that the man stood up and Nez punched the man in face, “knocking him unconscious and causing him to fall to the floor,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Nez admitted kicking the man “in the face and torso approximately 5 to 10 times while wearing work boots until he noticed Doe was bleeding profusely from his nose and mouth,” the news release stated.
“Worried Doe would choke, Nez turned him onto his side and exited the residence to ask neighbors to call 911,” the news release stated.
The man died at the home from head injuries, and the medical examiner listed the cause of death as “blunt head trauma, with contusions, fractures, internal bleeding, and brain swelling,” the news release stated.
Once Nez is released from prison he will serve five years of supervised release.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittany DuChaussee and R. Eliot Neal prosecuted the case.
