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ANETH, San Juan County — An argument among armed men at a Navajo Nation housing complex last month ended with a deadly bullet passing through one man and piercing the heart of another.
Tedrick Francis, 33, died during the July 23 altercation in Aneth, while Verveen Dawes, 26, went to the hospital with a gunshot wound.
Witnesses reported a white Chevrolet pickup driving through the Navajo Housing Authority complex several times before stopping in front of a home.
Dawes and Francis approached the truck and started talking to the driver, Llewellyn Dee Benally, and the passenger, Philbert Rentz, both of whom were holding guns, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court. As they spoke, Rentz and Dawes started to argue.
"According to Dawes, Benally pointed an AK-47-type assault rifle at him. Dawes grabbed the barrel of the weapon Benally was holding. Rentz leaned across the front seat, pointed a black firearm and fired one round through the driver's side window of the truck. The bullet passed through Dawes and hit Francis, who was standing behind Dawes," the complaint says.
Francis died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the heart.
Benally fled the housing area, firing the AK-47 four times as he left. He, Rentz and a third man then drove around for several hours discussing how to get rid of the guns, according to the complaint.
They later returned to the scene with the truck's headlights dimmed. Seeing several cars at the home, Benally again drove away and fired one shot into the air.
A police chase ensued and ended when Benally rolled the truck several times. Authorities said they found a 9 mm rifle in the vehicle.
During an interview with the FBI and Navajo Nation police, Rentz admitted to firing the shot that injured Dawes and killed Francis, according to the complaint.
Rentz, of Montezuma Creek, faces federal charges of murder while within Indian country, assault resulting in serious injury and use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Benally, of Montezuma Creek, faces two counts of aiding in a murder and assault.
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