Navajo Nation Murder Case: Shiprock Man Gets 210-Month Sentence for Home Break-In Killing

A man from Shiprock has been sentenced to 210 months in prison after he was convicted of murder in connection with a stabbing during a break-in at the Navajo Nation. The man was charged after he fatally stabbed a man who tried to stop him from attacking another resident.

Armondo Paul, 25, of Shiprock, New Mexico, has been sentenced to 210 months in prison after he was convicted of murder in connection with an incident in 2025. Paul is currently in federal custody. Paul is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.

An officer with the Navajo Nation Police Department found the victim with a serious injury. The victim had a neck wound that was apparently caused by a knife.

According to investigators, Paul arrived at the home shortly after 12 a.m., turned off the power, and kicked open the back door. He then saw a young woman and her father come outside to see who was there, and forced his way into the house armed with a knife. In the process, he assaulted one of the occupants.

When another occupant, identified as John Doe, tried to intervene while Paul was assaulting the first occupant, Paul stabbed Doe in the neck with a kitchen knife. Paul had brought the knife from his home. John Doe fled from the scene and died on the driveway of his home.

Paul pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in Indian Country and will remain in federal custody. Upon release, Paul will be subjected to five years of supervised release, which will include mental health treatment.

Paul has also been ordered to pay $5471.43 to the Crime Victims Reparation Commission for Doe’s funeral costs, as well as an undisclosed amount to Doe’s family for expenses related to the crime, including transportation to court hearings and counseling.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rayan Ellison and Special Agent Justin A. Garris of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Albuquerque Field Office announced the sentencing on May 12.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division.