NAVAJO NATION (KRQE) – A 29-year-old man from Smith Lake pled guilty in federal court to second-degree murder, Alexander M.M. Uballez United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico announced Thursday.
Josiah Alan Smith shot and killed the victim, identified as John Doe, at a home near Church Rock, on the Navajo Nation on May 17, 2021, according to court documents. Smith, who had arrived at the home earlier in the day, allegedly fired into a window from outside the home, hitting the victim in the back and killing him.
The FBI, with the assistance of the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office and Gallup Police Department, arrested Smith in Gamerco on Aug. 21, 2021. Smith, who is a member of the Navajo Nation, will remain in custody pending sentencing which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Smith faces up to life in prison
