Two Grey Hills Man Gets 8.5 Years for Armed Home Invasion on Navajo Nation

James Smiley Jr., 56, of Two Grey Hills will serve 8.5 years in federal prison after unlawfully entering a Navajo Nation residence, pointing a firearm at three people without provocation, and firing into the ceiling while threatening to kill them. U.S. District Court handed down the sentence March 30 following Smiley's guilty plea to assault with a dangerous weapon and using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence.

The incident occurred February 28, 2025. Court records show Smiley entered the home without justification and confronted the three occupants at gunpoint before discharging the weapon. No one was struck, but all three faced a man who had already announced his intent to kill them.

The case went to federal court because the residence sits within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. Under the Major Crimes Act, the U.S. government holds jurisdiction over serious violent offenses in Indian Country, placing the matter in federal rather than tribal court. The firearm charge then stacked mandatory time onto the assault count, producing the 102-month total.

Those 102 months carry no parole. In the federal system, Smiley serves the full sentence before transitioning to supervised release, a certainty of punishment that tribal advocates have long identified as the central reason violent cases on the Navajo Nation benefit from federal prosecution. Tribal sentencing authority and local enforcement resources have limits that federal prosecution does not, and victims in remote communities like Two Grey Hills rely on that distinction for meaningful outcomes.

The FBI's Farmington Resident Agency led the federal investigation alongside the Navajo Nation Police Department and the Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan prosecuted the case for the District of New Mexico.

If you need help: Navajo Nation Police dispatch is available at 928-871-6111. Sexual Assault Services of Northwest New Mexico runs a 24-hour crisis line at 866-908-4700 and a Gallup walk-in office at 111 S. 1st Street, reachable at (505) 399-5940, serving McKinley County residents and Navajo Nation chapter communities. The Navajo Nation Family Harmony Program provides free advocacy, safety planning, and shelter to survivors of domestic violence and assault at (505) 368-1157. To submit a tip to the FBI's Farmington Resident Agency, call 1-800-CALL-FBI.