NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – According to the US Department of Justice, Raydell Billy, 32, of Shiprock, was found guilty in a federal jury in Albuquerque on Wednesday. He’s accused of assault with a deadly weapon.
Evidence presented during the trial stated a victim was at his girlfriend’s Shiprock home, located within Navajo Nation’s ‘exterior boundaries,’ on April 11, 2022. Raydell Billy, and two others, are accused of bursting into that home and attacking the victim.
The victim’s girlfriend testified on March 6, 2023. She claimed someone knocked on the door, and she opened it to let one of the three people inside. However, Raynorma Billy, Raydell Billy, and Alvin White allegedly pushed their way into the home and attacked the woman’s boyfriend. She claimed she heard a gunshot while she was struggling with Raynorma in the hall. She said she ran to the bedroom and saw a gun in Raydell’s hand.
White testified that he attacked the victim with Raydell, trying to cause harm. He said they hit the man, and he heard a gunshot coming from over his shoulder. He said Raydell was the shooter.
A criminal investigator said they found a bullet hole in the bedroom’s mattress and box spring. He also said they gathered bullet fragment from the bedroom. The victim’s car also had damage from a gun and smashed-in windows, he alleged.
The victim testified on March 7, 2023. He said he was attacked in the bedroom by three people, and Raydell held him at gunpoint. He claimed Raydell hit him in the back of the head with the gun, and a machete was passed around between the three people.
White accepted a plea agreement in February 2023 for the assault. For being a conspirator, Raynorma pleaded guilty through an agreement in late February 2023.
Raydell will stay in custody while he awaits sentencing. He will face a maximum of ten years in prison with up to three years of supervised release.
