Arizona man pleads guilty to assault and firearms offenses

ALBUQUERQUE - An Arizona man has pleaded guilty to federal charges for assaulting a woman with a rifle after she tried to intervene in a suspected domestic violence incident.

According to court documents, on August 24, 2024, Jane Doe 2 saw Curley Nakai Jr., 25, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engage in what she believed was a domestic violence incident involving Jane Doe 1. Concerned, she followed the pickup truck in which Nakai was a passenger to the Basha's grocery store parking lot.

At the parking lot, Nakai exited the truck carrying a rifle, made threatening gestures toward Jane Doe 2, including pointing the rifle at her, and told her to leave. Jane Doe 2 drove some distance away but remained in the parking lot. During the incident, Jane Doe 1 exited the vehicle and walked away.

Nakai pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. At sentencing, Nakai faces not less than five years and up to life in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.