Man, 22, pleads guilty in March fatal shooting on Navajo Nation

Federal prosecutors say a 22-year-old man who fatally shot another man while staying at his girlfriend’s house on the Navajo Nation has pleaded guilty to a voluntary manslaughter charge.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico announced that Joshua Gutierrez entered the plea Friday in Albuquerque federal court.

A news release from the U.S. attorney says Gutierrez was staying at the home where his girlfriend and her father lived when the shooting occurred on March 29. Gutierrez awoke to sounds of an argument, got a gun and went toward the room where the arguing was happening. A man involved in the fight took a swing at Gutierrez and he fatally shot him, then pointed the gun at two other people and told them he would shoot them if they didn’t leave the house.

The shooting happened on the Navajo Nation and Gutierrez is an enrolled member of the tribe. He remains in federal custody and faces 12 years in prison under terms of a plea agreement.