Navajo man pleads guilty in hate crime case

Tuesday, March 4, 2008  

A man from the Navajo Nation pleaded guilty to lesser charges in a hate crime case in New Mexico.

Craig Yazzie, 37, pleaded no contest to false imprisonment, a fourth-degree felony, and misdemeanor aggravated battery. He faces more than two years in prison, though the state dropped a hate crime enhancement charge.

Yazzie and two other men -- Jerry Paul, 40, Scott Thompson, 22 -- are accused of beating a gay Native man, Matthew Shetima, last September. The men reportedly yelled a slur at Shetima and threatened to kill him.

State prosecutors said they will continue to press hate crime charges against Thompson, who is described as the ringleader. Paul lives on the Navajo Nation.

Get the Story:
Hate crime suspect takes plea (The Farmington Daily Times 3/4)

Native men charged with hate crime in New Mexico (12/18)