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Thursday, Mar 28th

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Mentmore man sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for carjacking, assault

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ALBUQUERQUE – A Mentmore man is facing seven and half years in jail after he attacked a woman.

Nathan Singer Lee, 28, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was staying at the home of the victim, also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, in Ramah since Jan. 26, 2020.

On Jan. 28 2020, the victim and her boyfriend traveled to Albuquerque, where they had been summoned to testify before a grand jury in a matter involving an individual known by Lee. The victim and her boyfriend told Lee that they were both witnesses in the case against the other individual, and Lee traveled to Albuquerque with them.

On Jan. 31, 2020, Lee and the victim's boyfriend were arrested in connection with a dispute with a neighbor. Lee was released from custody around 1:30 am on Feb. 1, 2020, and returned to the victim's home. The victim provided Lee with blankets to sleep, then proceeded to clean her room before going to bed.

According to the FBI report, around 3 am, the victim went to the kitchen for a mop and encountered Lee, who told her he had been waiting for her. Lee threw the victim to the floor and punched and kicked her repeatedly. When she tried to get up, he threw her to the floor again, causing an injury to her head.

The victim reportedly asked Lee why he was doing this, and he told her it was because she and her boyfriend were “snitches.” At another point during the assault, Lee also said, “I don’t care, I’ll [expletive] kill you.”

As Lee continued to assault the victim, she attempted to call the police. Lee took her cell phone and tried to break it with his hands, then used a hatchet to break it. Lee reached into the woman's pockets and took her EBT card and her keys. After recovering some of his belongings, Lee fled in the victim's vehicle.

Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that Lee was sentenced on Dec. 22 to seven and a half years in prison. On Aug. 25, 2021, Lee pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with assault resulting in serious bodily injury, obstructing justice by retaliating against a witness, victim, or informant resulting in bodily harm, and carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury.

Upon his release from prison, Lee will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Ramah Navajo Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Alexander F. Flores prosecuted the case.