Man sentenced for shooting on Ute reservation

A man who shot a woman on the Ute reservation in San Juan County during an argument in 2007 was sentenced to more than seven years in prison Tuesday.

Nathan Dutchie, 38, recently pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Indian Country as part of a plea agreement for his role in the shooting death of Jennifer Cantsee.

U.S. District Court Judge Tena Campbell sentenced Dutchie to 87 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay more than $12,000 in restitution for costs associated with Cantsee's funeral.

According to the indictment, Dutchie called 911 on Aug. 12, 2007, and said he had shot and killed Cantsee. Tribal agents arrived at the home to find her dead and face down in a carport in a pool of her own blood.

During questioning, Dutchie said he and Cantsee were arguing about her kids when he confronted her in the carport with a revolver. He said that when she dared him to shoot her, Dutchie pulled the trigger but said he didn't know there were bullets inside.

"He has maintained from the beginning that he did not know it was loaded," Wendy Lewis, Dutchie's attorney, told Campbell during the sentencing.

Lewis asked that Dutchie receive the lower end of the possible sentence, which would have been 70 months.

But Cantsee's daughter, Pam Tillahash, pleaded that Campbell sentence Dutchie to the full 87 months.

"She was our mom and dad put together," Tillahash said through tears as she addressed the court. "Growing up was hard because we only had her, and now it is hard because we don't have her anymore."

Prosecutors also pushed for the maximum sentence and said that Dutchie showed no emotion for what he did. They also said Dutchie's actions have caused some division in the tribe, along with the pain it caused her family.

Campbell sentenced Dutchie to the 87 months and said that even though it was the maximum, it was a light sentence considering what happened.

"No matter what is said, or how each side wants to spin it, Mr. Dutchie shot this woman and her life is over," Campbell said.

E-MAIL: ethomas@desnews.com