ALBUQUERQUE – Mylan Skye Velarde, 31, a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation who resides in Dulce, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for his assault conviction. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez and Chief Sylvester Stanley of the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department.
Velarde was arrested in Dec. 2015, on an indictment charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon, a bat, with intent to do bodily harm. According to the indictment, Velarde committed the crime on March 18, 2015, in Indian Country in Rio Arriba County, N.M.
On June 24, 2016, Velarde pled guilty to the indictment. In entering the guilty plea, Velarde admitted that on March 18, 2015, he repeatedly struck the victim in the head and upper torso with a bat, causing the victim to suffer bodily injury.
This case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Niki Tapia-Brito.