Navajo man pleads guilty in hate crime case

Tuesday, April 15, 2008  

A second man from the Navajo Nation has pleaded guilty in a hate crime case in Farmington, New Mexico.

Jerry Paul, 40, pleaded no contest to false imprisonment, a fourth-degree felony, and misdemeanor aggravated battery. He admitted to taking part in the beating of Matthew Shetima, a gay Native man, in September 2007.

Craig Yazzie, also from the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to the same charges. Paul and Yazzie claim a third man -- Scott Thompson, 22, who is not from the reservation -- instigated the attack.

Thompson is set to go to trial in May on kidnapping and aggravated battery charges. Prosecutors are seeking additional punishment under the state's hate crime law.

Get the Story:
Man takes plea in attack authorities call hate crime (The Farmington Daily Times 4/15)

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Navajo man pleads guilty in hate crime case (4/4)
Native men charged with hate crime in New Mexico (12/18)