A Fruitland man and his brother have been arrested in connection with a March 23 assault in Lower Fruitland.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI investigated the incident
Justin Tso, 37, and Walliford Tso, 36, allegedly went to their cousin’s house and reportedly assaulted her boyfriend after she said she “had no cigarettes,” according to the criminal information.
Justin Tso reportedly picked up a machete and left the house, but the woman’s boyfriend, who held an ax, yelled at them, “saying that he needed the machete to cut wood,” the criminal information states.
The woman and her boyfriend had a verbal altercation with the Tso brothers and then went in their home and closed the door. However, “Justin and Walliford kicked in the door,” and “the force of the door opening” knocked their cousin down and injured her knee and shoulder.
The brothers began punching the man, and Walliford allegedly picked up a vehicle tire rim and threw it at him, injuring his arm, according to the criminal information.
The cousin and her boyfriend got away from the Tso brothers with their small child. They called the police, but the Tso brothers reportedly continued to pursue them outside, throwing a “steel fence post” and a rock at the man, court records state.
The incident reportedly ended when Walliford drove a truck “over the gate to the property, completely breaking the wood and cement posts attached to the gate,” the criminal information states.
Walliford then reportedly rammed two vehicles parked in front of the home, hitting them hard enough to break a cinder block retaining wall. Part of a vehicle came to rest on top of the wall, according to the criminal information.
Justin Tso is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting.
Walliford Tso is charged with using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence, aiding and abetting, assault with a dangerous weapon and other offenses.
The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meg Tomlinson is prosecuting the case.
