A Pinyon man has been federally charged in the Sept. 29 beating of a man on the Navajo Nation.

According to information from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Flagstaff, a man walked into the clinic in Pinyon with severe face and head injuries. After a laceration to the back of his head was treated, the man was transported to Flagstaff Medical Center to have reconstructive surgery to repair damage to the cartilage of his nose.

The victim told federal investigators that he had been drinking alcohol under a tree with another man. The two argued for a reason the victim couldn't remember. The other man decided to leave for a nearby store and the victim decided to try to sleep off his intoxication. The victim awoke some time later with the other man hitting him in the face with a tree branch. The suspect then hit the victim in the back of the head with a cinder block before running away. A witness saw the suspect running away, went to investigate and found a pool of blood where the witness had seen the victim sleeping earlier.

Dewayne Tachine, no age listed, was charged with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.