Zuni Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter, Faces 15 Years

Glendon Laate, a 49-year-old member of the Zuni Pueblo, pleaded guilty March 10 to voluntary manslaughter for the December 1, 2024 fatal shooting of a man in Indian Country, federal prosecutors announced. At sentencing, Laate faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

According to court documents, Laate shot and killed the victim, identified in court filings as John Doe, with a homemade shotgun in the heat of passion. The U.S. Attorney's Office, District of New Mexico, issued a press release the same day the guilty plea was entered.

The case carries procedural history worth noting. Earlier reporting, including coverage by the Cibola Citizen under the headline "Zuni Man Indicted for Second-Degree Murder in McKinley County," described Laate facing a federal indictment alleging he killed the victim with malice aforethought. Under that second-degree murder charge, Laate faced a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment. The guilty plea to voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge, reflects a different legal posture and caps his maximum exposure at 15 years.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI's Albuquerque Field Office led the investigation with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. 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. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meg Tomlinson and Michael Pahl are prosecuting the case, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office press release. Some earlier indictment-era reporting attributed prosecution of the case to Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon; the discrepancy in prosecutor names across sources has not been independently resolved and the U.S. Attorney's Office should be contacted to confirm current case assignments.

No sentencing date has been announced. The victim's full identity has not been publicly disclosed beyond the "John Doe" designation used in court documents.