A Shiprock woman was threatened and assaulted last week by a man she met on Facebook. Now, he is facing multiple federal charges.
Tyrell Willie, 37, of Shiprock, reportedly met the woman on Facebook and two weeks later on May 28 drove to her Shiprock home to meet her. The federal criminal complaint referred to the woman as Jane Doe. It alleged she came out of her home and sat in the passenger side of Willie’s truck.
The two visited for a short while before Willie became upset for an unknown reason. He got out of the truck and walked to the passenger side, where he reportedly attempted to throw Jane Doe out of the vehicle. She threatened to scream and did, which led her son to intervene.
The son “came out of the residence, grabbed Willie, and threw him to the ground. Jane Doe got out of the truck and Willie got back up, got back into the truck, then drove away,” according to the criminal complaint. Willie also reportedly hit a fence belonging to Jane Doe as well as one belonging to her neighbor.
Willie was accused of returning to the residence 30 minutes later, approaching it with his lights off. Jane Doe went outside and reported hearing gunshots fired from the truck. Then, she saw her son walk outside holding his midsection, which had been struck by a bullet.
The woman managed to flag down two marked police officers, who were responding to reports of “a truck driving erratically and causing property damage in the area.” Police also heard the gunshots and saw Willie’s truck drive by them. One of the officers pursued Willie, while a second transported the woman’s son to an area hospital, according to the criminal complaint.
The Navajo Nation officers found Willie’s truck stalled on the roadside. They ordered him out of the vehicle, and he reportedly was holding a shotgun. When police told him to drop it, Willie slid the shotgun under the truck. Upon investigating, police discovered the shotgun was loaded with four shells.
Willie was arrested and charged with assault with a dangerous weapon, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
