SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 25, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) -- A federal grand jury has indicted a San Juan County resident after the shooting death of another man.
Chevel Cottonwood, 34, was charged by complaint on June 11, 2025, and ordered detained by a U.S. Magistrate Judge. The charge is second-degree murder, according to a news release issued by the United States Attorney's Office, District of Utah.
Court documents say that on June 10 of this year, Navajo Police Department officers responded to a 911 call reporting gunfire near the Hovenweep area north of Aneth, within the Navajo Nation.
"Upon arrival at a residence, officers spoke with a woman who was allegedly at the residence at the time of the shooting and described hearing gunshots from the living room," the release says.
"She recalled hearing Cottonwood and the victim arguing, and then heard another gunshot and saw the flash of the discharge. The woman then went to the living room and saw the victim laying on the floor bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound."
Responding officers "entered the residence and found the victim deceased with a gunshot wound and an empty shell casing next to him," the release says.
"Cottonwood was found hiding in nearby bushes with a loaded magazine and ammunition. A search warrant was executed, and officers seized a 9mm pistol and two 9mm shell casings. Agents also observed bullet holes through the roof of the house that appeared to have occurred at some point during the incident."
"Cottonwood is charged with second-degree murder while within Indian Country and being a restricted person in possession of a firearm and ammunition."
Cottonwood will have his initial appearance on the indictment Thursday at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti for the District of Utah made the announcement. The case is being investigated jointly by the Navajo Nation Department of Criminal Investigations and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Monticello Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sam Pead and Tanner Zumwalt of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah are prosecuting the case.
