Man pleads guilty in Navajo Nation killing

Man pleads guilty in Navajo Nation killing

(Salt Lake County Jail)


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SALT LAKE CITY — A member of the Navajo Nation admitted in court Monday that he "acted recklessly with extreme disregard for human life" when he shot and killed a fellow tribal member in July 2011.

Philbert Rentz was initially charged with murder while within Indian Country. In a deal with prosecutors, though, he pleaded guilty Monday to voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Tedrick Tyrell Francis, 33.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors requested the dismissal of several other charges against Rentz, including assault and use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. Rentz pleaded guilty last month to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a charge that was filed a part of the initial murder indictment.

On July 23, 2011, Rentz was riding in a truck with two other men when they approached Francis and Verveen Dawes at a Navajo Nation housing complex in San Juan County, according to charging documents. Dawes and Francis started talking to the driver, Llewellyn Dee Benally. Both Benally and Rentz were holding rifles, witnesses said.

Dawes told FBI agents that Benally pointed an AK-47-type assault rifle at him, so he grabbed the barrel of the gun. That's when Rentz leaned across the front seat, pointed a 9mm Hi-Point rifle through the driver's side window and pulled the trigger once, investigators said.

"The bullet passed through Dawes and hit Francis, who was standing behind Dawes," the charges state.

Dawes survived the shooting, but Francis died at the scene. Rentz claimed in court records that he shot Dawes and Francis in self-defense.

Benally pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and fleeing from police in May 2012. A federal judge sentenced him to two years in prison.

The prosecution of Rentz's case was delayed due to appeals filed by both sides over the charges contained in the initial grand jury indictment. The defense argued that prosecutors couldn't charge Rentz with two counts of use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence because he only fired one shot.

In February, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with the defense. Prosecutors sought and obtained a new indictment that followed the appellate court's ruling, allowing the case to move forward.

Rentz, who has been in federal custody since his arrest on the night of the shooting, is scheduled to be sentenced July 21. The plea agreement calls for a term of at least six years in federal prison for the voluntary manslaughter charge, court records show.

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Geoff Liesik

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