Mescalero man pleads guilty to assault

• Sentencing date not yet set

Matthew Joel Torres, 27, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Nation who resides in Mescalero, pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to an assault charge under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Torres was arrested on April 18,on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a Mescalero Apache man on June 13, 2015, by stabbing him twice in the stomach. The assault occurred on the Mescalero Apache Indian Reservation in Otero County, according to information from the office of U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Torres pled guilty to a felony information charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon.  In entering the guilty plea, Torres admitted that on June 13, 2015, he assaulted the victim by stabbing him in the abdomen twice with a knife with intent to cause bodily harm.

At sentencing, Torres faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.  He remains in custody, pending a sentencing hearing that is not yet scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Mescalero Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron O. Jordan of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.