Crownpoint Man Pleads Guilty to Strangling Woman, Assaulting Tribal Officer

Jason K. Thompson, 40, of Crownpoint pleaded guilty March 13 in federal court to strangling a woman and turning a Navajo Nation police officer's own taser against him, capping a case that began nearly a year ago with a domestic violence call that spiraled into an assault on law enforcement and a foot chase.

According to court documents, Thompson attempted to strangle a woman identified as Jane Doe on March 18, 2025. When Navajo Nation Police Department officers responded to the domestic violence call and tried to take him into custody, Thompson struggled with an officer, grabbed the officer's taser, and used it against him with intent to injure. After being subdued, handcuffed, and placed in a patrol unit, Thompson kicked out a window and escaped. Officers recaptured him later that same night.

Thompson pleaded guilty to assault by strangulation and assault with a deadly weapon. He faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing. No sentencing date has been announced.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office, announced the plea agreement. The case was investigated by the Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office, working alongside the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Probasco is prosecuting.

Thompson is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. Federal jurisdiction applies to serious crimes committed by tribal members on tribal land under the Major Crimes Act, which is why the case was handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico rather than tribal courts.