Tuba City Man Sentenced to Prison for Murder

     PHOENIX, Ariz. – On October 31, 2019, Richard Kingston Shepherd, of Tuba City, Ariz., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Douglas L. Rayes to 14 years of imprisonment to be followed by five years of supervised release.  Shepherd had previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

     In July 2018, Shepherd attacked and killed the victim near Tuba City High School, on the Navajo Nation Indian Reservation.  Shepherd is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, as was the victim.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Samuels, District of Arizona, Phoenix.