Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
ALBUQUERQUE – A Church Rock man was sentenced to 147 months in prison for charges related to an attack on law enforcement officers on the Navajo Nation.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, after midnight on July 22, 2023, officers from the Navajo Police Department and New Mexico State Police responded to reports of a man shooting a gun and making threats near a residence on the Navajo Nation. While investigating, they came under fire from an unknown direction and from an unknown assailant and were forced to take cover. Officers reported hearing the bullets whiz past them and landing in the dirt nearby.
After a prolonged search, Elijah Touchine, 24, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was arrested later that day at a gun store in Gallup, where he was attempting to purchase additional firearms, including an AR-15and ammunition. During questioning, Touchine admitted to shooting at the officers and expressed a desire to “kill every [expletive] police”.
A search of the vehicle Touchine was in revealed a .40 caliber handgun and ammunition in a black bag. Investigators also recovered multiple .40 caliber shell casings at the scene of the shooting.
Upon his release from prison, Touchine will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigation, New Mexico State Police, Gallup Police Department, and McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Marshall is prosecuting the case.