Source: US FBI
ALBUQUERQUE – A To’Hajiilee man was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for the brutal killing of a local man in 2020. Earlier this month, that man also pled guilty in a separate case to assaulting a federal detention officer while he was in custody awaiting trial.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on June 24, 2020, Antonio Chaco, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, argued with Thomas Anthony Brown outside Chaco’s trailer home in To’Hajiilee. Without warning or cause, Chaco struck Brown in the face and continued to punch and kick Brown until he lost consciousness. Chaco then wrapped Brown in a square of carpet, transported Brown to a remote desert location within the Navajo Nation, and continued his assault before abandoning Brown—leaving Brown to perish in the wilderness without water, food, phone, or shelter.
On July 4, 2020, Thomas Anthony Brown’s family found Brown’s skeletonized remains in the To’Hajiilee wilderness. The Office of the Medical Investigator later determined Brown’s cause of death was homicidal violence, including blunt-head trauma.
Thomas Brown’s picture and cowboy hat, as displayed during sentencing
Upon his release from prison for this crime, Chaco will be subject to five years of supervised release.
In a separate case, Chaco pled guilty on June 30, 2025, to assaulting a federal detention officer at the Cibola County Correctional Facility while Chaco was in custody pending trial for the murder of Thomas Brown. For this offense, Chaco faces up to 20 years in prison. That sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Philip Russell, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones and Brittany DuChaussee are prosecuting these cases.