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SALT LAKE CITY — A Navajo man pleaded guilty Tuesday to shooting and killing another man during an argument last summer.
Raymus Sheldon Whitehorse, 26, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to manslaughter within Indian Country, a felony, for the death of Anthony John Judy, 31. Whitehorse was indicted by a grand jury in September.
According to the plea, Whitehorse had been drinking on Aug. 28 when he went to Judy's home to drink some more. In time, the drinking turned into an argument.
"The argument became physical, and Anthony and I went outside and continued to fight," Whitehorse wrote in the plea. "During this time, I had a 9 mm handgun. At some point the fight broke up, and Anthony began to walk away. As Anthony walked away with his back to me, I shot him from across the yard out of anger, and he collapsed."
As Anthony walked away with his back to me, I shot him from across the yard out of anger, and he collapsed.
–Raymus Whitehorse plea
According to court documents, both men are enrolled members of the Navajo Tribe and the shooting occurred on tribal land.
Sentencing is set for Oct. 4. Whitehorse faces a potential maximum sentence of up to 15 years in federal prison.
