Three teens were indicted for murdering two homeless Navajo men on July 21 in Albuquerque, N.M. The victims were beaten with cinder blocks and a pole.
“It’s beyond senseless that these teens would attack homeless people in this manner,” President Shelly said. “The Navajo Nation is appalled that this type of attack is happening upon our people. We pray that justice will be carried out in this case.”
Incarcerated on $5 million bail the trio – Alex Rios, 18, Nathaniel Carrillo, 16, and Gilbert Tafoya, 15 – are facing two open counts of murder, tampering with evidence, three counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and robbery.
The teens allegedly attacked more than 50 other homeless people in the Albuquerque area.
Regardless of the homeless state of the victims, President Shelly said no person deserves to be beaten to death in that manner. Innocent men do not deserve to be murdered in their sleep. The horror of such violence in this day and age is incomprehensible, he said.
“The Navajo Nation needs an opportunity to meet with Albuquerque Mayor Berry about this attack. We need to sit down and discuss possible solutions to assist the homeless population in Albuquerque,” President Shelly said.
He mentioned the efforts of NCI in Gallup and the Friendship House in San Francisco, both of which assist homeless and indigent Native Americans with alcoholism issues through counseling and rehabilitation services.
President Shelly says he will work with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission to request a meeting with Mayor Richard J. Berry.