Zuni Pueblo Man Gets 12 Years for Firing Shotgun at Occupied Vehicle

Cody Laweka, 35, grabbed a shotgun from a truck bed, stepped out of a vehicle, and fired at least two rounds into a car parked outside a Zuni Pueblo residence. Last week, a federal judge handed him 12 years in prison for it, and under the federal system, he will serve every day.

The February 2, 2025 shooting set off a case that moved from the Zuni Pueblo to federal court under a legal framework governing violent crimes on tribal lands. Because Laweka is an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Zuni and the offense occurred on tribal territory, jurisdiction fell to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico rather than state prosecutors. Laweka pleaded guilty to federal firearms offenses, triggering sentencing under federal guidelines. The office announced the 12-year term on March 25, 2026.

Unlike New Mexico state sentences, which allow for parole board review, federal sentences carry no parole. Laweka's release date is fixed by statute, not administrative discretion. A period of supervised release will follow his prison term, during which violations can return him to custody. Federal law also permanently prohibits convicted felons from possessing firearms or ammunition, a restriction that begins immediately and does not expire.

The investigation drew on cooperation between federal prosecutors and tribal and local law enforcement, the chain that typically carries violent crime from Zuni Pueblo into federal court. Tribal police or the FBI make initial contact; prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney's Office evaluate charges under federal statutes. A guilty plea, as in Laweka's case, avoids trial but requires formal acceptance of the factual record in court documents, which becomes the permanent federal account of the offense.

The 12-year sentence is among the more significant outcomes in the district for a firearms offense that did not result in a fatality, and it arrives as the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico continues to prioritize violent firearms cases on tribal lands across the state.