PHOENIX – A man from the Navajo Nation has been sentenced to 17.5 years in prison for a murder that happened in 2020.

Joshua John Todecheene, 30, of Kayenta, Ariz. was sentenced on March 21 to 17.5 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release,  by U.S. District Judge Diane J. Humetewa. Todecheene previously pleaded guilty to second degree murder. 

In February 2020, after an argument with the victim, Todecheene left the scene of the argument, returned with a rifle, and shot the victim in the chest, killing him. Todecheene and the victim are both members of the Navajo Nation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kiyoko Patterson, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.