Shiprock Man Charged with Armed Carjacking

ALBUQUERQUE - A Shiprock man is facing federal charges for allegedly carjacking an SUV at gunpoint and forcing two occupants from the vehicle before fleeing the scene.

According to court documents, on September 28, 2022, Cordalle Landon White, 41, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, allegedly carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint in Shiprock, New Mexico. White is accused of approaching two occupants of a parked SUV, pointing a handgun at one victim, threatening to shoot her, and ordering both victims out of the vehicle before driving away in the stolen SUV.

Navajo Police Department officers later recovered the vehicle in Cudei, New Mexico and found a loaded handgun inside. During the investigation, one victim identified White in a photo lineup, and DNA evidence recovered from the firearm was later linked to White.

White is charged with carjacking and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted of the current charge, White faces up to 15 years in prison.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Marshall is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.