Kayenta Man Convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Simple Assault

     PHOENIX – On Feb. 1, 2019, Silas Deswood Yazzie, 52, of Kayenta, Ariz, a member of the Navajo Nation, was convicted by a jury of assault with a dangerous weapon and simple assault.  Yazzie is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven P. Logan in April 2019.

     On two separate occasions, Yazzie assaulted unsuspecting victims with a knife.  Yazzie sought out the first victim in early June 2018, when he grabbed a knife and swung it at the victim’s stomach after saying he would “teach him a lesson.”  The victim had to take a step back to avoid being stabbed.  Less than two weeks later, while loitering at a gas station, Yazzie approached the second victim, and demanded money.  When the victim refused to comply, Yazzie pulled out a knife, followed the victim to where the victim’s car was parked at a gas pump and attempted to stab the victim.  The victim had to evade Yazzie to avoid being stabbed.  The crimes occurred on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Navajo Nation Department of Public Safety.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Krista J. Wood and Sharon K. Sexton, District of Arizona, Phoenix.