PHOENIX, Ariz. – Sito Aeroplan Nalwood, 33, of Chinle, Arizona, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael T. Liburdi to nineteen years in prison. Nalwood previously pleaded guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter.
On July 26, 2018, Nalwood attempted to take a bag from the victim by threatening her with a rifle. When the victim refused, Nalwood began firing shots around her. One of the shots hit the victim in the pelvis, which ultimately killed her. At the time he committed this crime, Nalwood was serving a term of supervised release, which had been imposed after Nalwood was convicted of an assault. The Court sentenced Nalwood to fifteen years in prison for voluntary manslaughter and an additional four years in prison for committing that crime while on supervised release.
Both Nalwood and the victim are members of the Navajo Nation, and the offense occurred in Chinle, on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William G. Voit and Sharon K. Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution.
CASE NUMBER: CR-18-08328-MTL
RELEASE NUMBER: 2022-026_Nalwood
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