Man faces assault, firearms charges after May 28 shooting in Shiprock
FARMINGTON — A Shiprock man is being held after being charged by federal officials with three crimes in the wake of a violent encounter with a woman in Shiprock on May 28.
Tyrell Willie, 37, a member of the Navajo Nation, faces charges of assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to a news release from the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico. He was ordered held by a U.S. magistrate judge on June 1 after his preliminary hearing.
The charges Willie faces stem from an incident that took place on May 28 when Willie drove to the Shiprock home of a woman he had met on Facebook approximately two weeks earlier. When he arrived, the woman joined him in his truck, the release states.
The two had a short discussion before Willie allegedly became upset, walked to the passenger side of the vehicle and tried to throw the woman out. The woman screamed when Willie refused to let her go, at which point her son came out of the house, grabbed Willie and threw him to the ground, according to the release.
The woman then exited the vehicle while Willie got to his feet, climbed back into the truck and drove away, allegedly hitting the woman’s fence and the fence of a neighbor in the process, the release states.
Approximately a half hour later, the woman’s son believed he heard Willie’s truck returning and went outside, where he observed the vehicle pull up slowly with the lights off. The woman said she heard gunshots and her son scream. She walked outside to find her son holding his midsection, according to the release.
The woman quickly was able to flag down two officers from the Navajo Police Department and tell them what had happened. The officers had received multiple calls of a truck being driven erratically and causing property damage in the area. They also had heard the gunshots and had seen Willie’s truck pass them as he left the scene, the release states.
The woman’s son was taken to a hospital by one of the officers while the other pursued Willie, locating him a short while later when his truck was spotted stalled at the side of the road. When confronted by police, Willie allegedly stepped out of the vehicle holding a shotgun. He was ordered by police to drop the weapon and responded by sliding it under the truck, according to the release.
Authorities said the shotgun was discovered to have been loaded with four shells.
The woman’s son was shot once in the abdomen, according to a spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Attorney. He remained hospitalized as of June 2.
Willie faces a minimum of 10 years in prison if convicted of the three charges, the release states.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Farmington office in addition to the Navajo Police Department.
Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com.
Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Shiprock resident Tyrell Willie faces 3 charges, 10 years in prison
