Man drives down dirt road, bites victim to point of needing amputation, feds say

A man pleaded guilty to biting a victim to the point of needing amputation in New Mexico, federal officials said.

In 2021, Darold Zuniefeathers, 28, and an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, was hanging with friends and another man when the two decided to go on a cigarette run before the gas station closed, according to a March 17 news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Instead of going to the gas station, Zuniefeathers drove down a “side dirt road” and attacked the man, officials said.

He bit him multiple times on his arm, hands, and torso, leading to such severe damage that the victim needed one finger amputated and another to be partially amputated, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors didn’t specify what led to the attack.

McClatchy News reached out to Zuniefeathers’ lawyer on March 18 and was awaiting a response.

Zuniefeathers faces up to 10 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, officials said.

Zuni is about a 10-mile drive northeast of Albuquerque.

This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Man drives down dirt road, bites victim to point of needing amputation, feds say."