Zuni Man Receives Five-Year Prison Term for 2021 Assault
Darold ZunieFeathers was sentenced in U.S. District Court in New Mexico to five years in federal prison for an assault that caused severe injuries to the victim. The term establishes a fixed period of incarceration that begins immediately and will trigger supervised release upon completion.
propublica.orgALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Darold ZunieFeathers received a five-year prison sentence on May 11, 2026, for a 2021 assault that left the victim with severe injuries, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The sentence applies to one individual, ZunieFeathers, a member of the Zuni community. The assault occurred in 2021 and produced injuries classified as severe under federal sentencing guidelines. The Department of Justice release does not specify additional co-defendants or linked cases.
The prior state left ZunieFeathers awaiting final sentencing after conviction. The new state imposes immediate incarceration for 60 months in a federal facility. The change takes effect on the sentencing date of May 11, 2026, with no delayed start date listed in the release.
Downstream, the Bureau of Prisons must designate a facility and begin the term. Upon release, ZunieFeathers will enter a period of supervised release whose length the release does not detail. The sentencing also closes the judicial phase of the case in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico, shifting any further compliance obligations to corrections and probation officials.
No restitution or fine amounts appear in the primary document.
This marks the final resolution of a prosecution opened after the 2021 incident on sovereign Zuni lands. The Department of Justice handled the case through its U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico, which routinely pursues felony assault matters involving Native American victims or offenders under federal statutes that apply in Indian Country.
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