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Shiprock Woman Charged with Assaulting Federal Officer and Endangering Three Children

Alondria Hope Benally faces charges after allegedly running over a Navajo Police officer and fleeing with three children in the vehicle.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 27, 2026, 4:24 p.m. ET
A Shiprock woman has been with assaulting a federal officer and three counts of child abuse, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico. The charges stem from an incident on August 21, 2026, in which Alondria Hope Benally, 24, allegedly ran over a Navajo Police Department officer with a vehicle and fled the scene with three young children inside. Court documents state that the officer responded to a report of a drunk driver in a white SUV with three children inside. When the officer attempted to detain Benally, she allegedly put the vehicle in gear, crashed into the police unit, and then ran over the officer's right leg before driving away on Highway 491. The officer suffered a chipped bone, extreme pain, and widespread abrasions. Responding officers later located Benally and pursued her at speeds exceeding 80 mph through the Navajo Nation before detaining her. Benally is with assaulting a federal officer and three counts of child abuse. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison on the assault charge and up to three years on each child abuse count. She will remain in third-party custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. The case was announced on August 27, 2026, by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and FBI Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris. The FBI's Farmington Resident Agency investigated with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allysa B. Gambarella is prosecuting the case. As this matter is only at the charging stage, it remains undecided.

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  1. Version 127 Aug 2026, 20:24current

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