Begay

I. BACKGROUND

In the early morning hours of March 28, 2002, Kenderick Begay1 drove his truck through the Navajo Indian Reservation 1 The record reflects that “Begay” is a common surname in the Navajo Nation and does not always reflect a familial relation between two individ- uals bearing that name. In this case, four relevant parties bear the surname Begay: the defendant, his sister Mecheryl, a man named Emmanley, and a man named Larry. The latter two bear no familial relation to the first two or to each other. We refer to the defendant by his surname and to the other Begays by either their first or full names. 6492 UNITED STATES v. BEGAY in Greasewood, Arizona after leaving a gathering at the “windmill,” an area in town where the youth partied. His pas- sengers included his sister Mecheryl Begay, Loren Clark, Emmanley Begay, and Jessica Lee. When a car passed them traveling in the opposite direction sometime around 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m., Begay turned his truck around. The other car turned around as well. When the two vehicles passed each other again, Begay flashed the lights of his truck, presumably signaling the other car to stop. The two vehicles pulled…