Navajo Nation Man Sentenced to Prison for Second-Degree Murder

ALBUQUERQUE – A federal judge sentenced a man to federal prison for the December 2020 murder of his friend. Isaiah Augustine Bob, 39, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Bob was also ordered to pay restitution to his victim’s family for funeral expenses, as well as for expenses his victim’s family incurred cleaning up the blood and damage to the victim’s home that resulted from his killing.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, John Doe invited Bob, a lifelong family friend who was temporarily homeless, to reside with Doe in June 2020 at Doe’s residence in Church Rock, New Mexico. On December 4, 2020, Bob beat Doe to death following an argument at Doe’s home. Doe’s causes of death were determined to be blunt-force trauma to his head, torso, and extremities.

On March 10, 2023, Bob pled guilty to second-degree murder in Indian Country.

At sentencing, the federal judge found John Doe was a “vulnerable victim,” which means Doe was particularly susceptible to Bob’s criminal conduct and thus was in need of greater societal protection than the average citizen. This finding resulted in an upward adjustment to Bob’s sentencing-guideline level.

U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The case was investigated by Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander F. Flores and Zachary Jones prosecuted the case.

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