Zuni Pueblo man sentenced to 8 years in shooting of occupied vehicle

Shane Austin Loretto was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison Thursday after admitting he fired a shotgun into an occupied vehicle on Zuni Pueblo and seriously injured a passenger. The shooting left John Doe with pellets in the face and neck and required medical treatment.

Loretto, 32, an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The shooting happened on March 20, 2025, when Loretto fired into the car with the intent to do bodily harm. He discharged the shotgun from the front seat of a vehicle in a residential area, striking the victim in another vehicle across the street.

Investigators tied Loretto to the shooting through witness statements and later found the shotgun and ammunition in a safe inside a shed next to his residence. During an interview, Loretto claimed he had heard about the shooting but did not know where the gunshot came from. After serving his sentence, he will be subject to three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s Gallup Resident Agency, part of the Albuquerque Field Office, with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan is prosecuting the case.

Cody Laweka received 12 years in prison for firing a shotgun at an occupied vehicle parked outside a home on the Pueblo of Zuni. Devin Wade Wyaco was sentenced to 10 years and one month after firing from a moving vehicle at bicyclists and striking one of them in the abdomen. Eric Bowannie received 12 years after an armed standoff in Zuni.