St. Michael’s woman sentenced to prison for involuntary manslaughter

ALBUQUERQUE – The FBI Albuquerque Field Office announced that Leticia Ashley was sentenced to 30 months in prison. Ashley, 38, of St. Michaels, Arizona and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter on Oct. 2, 2023.

A federal grand jury indicted Ashley on Feb. 23, 2023. According to publicly available court documents, on July 29, 2022, Ashley consumed a half-pint of Fireball liquor before she got into the driver’s seat of her truck with her four young children as passengers and started to drive. Ashley was speeding when she lost control of the vehicle, causing it to leave the roadway and roll over several times. The crash was reported to law enforcement by a motorist who came upon the scene shortly afterward and narrowly missed encountering the speeding truck.

Ashley’s unrestrained five-year-old daughter died as a result of the vehicle crash and her other children were injured. Ashley was airlifted was University of New Mexico Hospital with a severely broken arm and spinal injury.

Upon her release from prison, Ashley will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Crownpoint Police. Assistant United States Attorney Kimberly Bell is prosecuting the case.