Parolee Charged in Easter Sunday Stabbing Outside Farmington Dollar General

Anthony G. Yazzie, 43, of Farmington faces an aggravated battery with a deadly weapon charge in Farmington Magistrate Court after police say he stabbed a man in the parking lot of the Dollar General at 309 E. 20th St. on Easter Sunday afternoon.

The victim, Nicholas Delarue, was stabbed in the shoulder and lower-side area after a verbal exchange escalated into a physical fight. Delarue's wife, who works as assistant manager at that location, had gone out to confront Yazzie over an ongoing dispute before the two men traded words and the confrontation turned violent. A witness told responding officers she watched the men fight and saw Yazzie pushed onto another bystander's car.

Yazzie told police he stabbed Delarue in the chest area using a key fob and claimed self-defense. Delarue's wife told investigators she saw Yazzie holding what she described as a "letterman" knife. Surveillance video from the store captured the altercation and factored directly into the arrest.

What makes the charge notable is what Yazzie's record shows: court documents indicate he was sentenced in 2010 to 25 years following convictions on two counts of homicide by vehicle, one count of great bodily harm by vehicle, and a DWI. He served 16 years before being released on parole, placing him under active state supervision when the Easter Sunday stabbing occurred.

Yazzie was booked into the San Juan County Detention Center following the arrest. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 15 in Farmington Magistrate Court.

Authorities have not disclosed whether parole supervision officers documented any prior violations or had intervened with Yazzie before Easter Sunday. Prosecutors are expected to invoke his violent history when arguing for pretrial detention.

The stabbing drew fresh scrutiny to a parking lot that sees steady foot traffic at one of Farmington's high-volume discount retailers. That the victim's wife was working an Easter shift when her husband was stabbed outside her own store sharpens the question of what, if anything, parole oversight failed to catch before the confrontation reached 309 E. 20th St.