Trudy Martinez, 30, of Bread Springs, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was sentenced on Sept. 10 in federal court to 19 years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in Indian Country. Martinez pleaded guilty on March 16, 2020.
According to the plea agreement and other court records, Martinez shot her sister-in-law in the abdomen with an AR-15 assault rifle.
Martinez hid the firearm in an arroyo and then remained at large for several days before being arrested while throwing a birthday party for one of her children in a park in Gallup.
Martinez admitted that she intentionally killed her sister-in-law during an argument. The murder took place at a residence located in McKinley County on the Navajo Nation.
Upon her release from prison, Martinez will be subject to five years of supervised release.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas J. Aliberti prosecuted the case.
