Source: US FBI
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man was sentenced today to 199 days in prison for assisting in the cover-up of the kidnapping and murder of Thomas Anthony Brown in the To’Hajiilee area of the Navajo Nation.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on or about June 24, 2020, Antonio Chaco assaulted Thomas Brown outside Chaco’s trailer home. Chaco then rolled Brown in a square of carpet and transported him to a remote desert location. There, Chaco continued his violent assault and ultimately abandoned Brown without water, food, or shelter.
Area in To’Hajiilee where John Doe was discovered.
Brown’s decayed remains were discovered on July 4, 2020. The Office of the Medical Investigator determined Brown’s cause of death to be homicidal violence, including blunt-force head trauma.
Thomas Brown’s picture and cowboy hat, as displayed during Chaco’s sentencing
After the assault and kidnapping, Peter Paul Sandoval, 60, knowingly took steps to help Chaco conceal his criminality. Specifically, Sandoval cleaned blood from the car used to transport Brown, thus destroying potential evidence, doing so with the intent of preventing Chaco’s arrest, prosecution, and punishment.
Sandoval pled guilty to being an accessory after the fact to kidnapping. Upon his release from prison, Sandoval will be subject to three years of supervised release. He must also pay restitution to Brown’s family.
Chaco pled guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 17 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
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 prosecuted these cases.