ALBUQUERQUE — A Smith Lake man was sentenced to 11 years and four months in federal prison for the 2021 murder of a man in Church Rock.
According to court documents, Josiah Alan Smith, 29, shot and killed a man at a home near Church Rock on the Navajo Nation on May 17, 2021. Smith, who had arrived at the residence earlier in the day, allegedly fired into a window from outside the home, hitting the victim in the back and killing him.
Following the shooting, Smith fled the scene and attempted to conceal evidence by disposing of the murder weapon. Smith was arrested approximately three months after the incident.
Upon his release from prison, Smith will be subject to five years of supervised release.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations and the McKinley County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Blake Nichols is prosecuting the case.
