Man upset over sword beat another man, left him to die in NM desert, feds say
A request to restore a sword ended in a “brutal killing” in New Mexico, prosecutors and a federal court filing said, and now a 42-year-old man is heading to prison.
Antonio Chaco, from To’Hajiilee, was ordered to serve 17 years behind bars for the 2020 death of Thomas Anthony Brown, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico said in a July 11 news release.
Sarah M. Gorman, one of Chaco’s attorneys, declined to comment in a July 11 email to McClatchy News.
Chaco is accused of beating Brown on June 24, 2020, and leaving him injured in the wilderness, prosecutors said.
The men argued outside Chaco’s home, and then “Chaco struck Brown in the face and continued to punch and kick Brown until he lost consciousness,” according to prosecutors.
Chaco wrapped Brown in carpet and took him “to a remote desert location within the Navajo Nation,” prosecutors said.
Chaco “continued his assault before abandoning Brown,” prosecutors said, “leaving (him) to perish in the wilderness without water, food, phone, or shelter.”
Brown’s remains were found by family about 1 1/2 weeks later, prosecutors said.
In a plea agreement, Chaco said he paid Brown “to restore a sword for me,” but Brown hadn’t done it.
Chaco felt Brown “stole that sword from me,” and they argued, the plea agreement said.
Chaco also is facing up to two decades in prison in another case, according to prosecutors, who said he pleaded guilty in June to an assault on a detention officer. A sentencing date in that case wasn’t announced.
To’Hajiilee is about a 50-mile drive southwest from Albuquerque.
This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 12:53 PM.
.JPG)