Whiterocks Man Sentenced to Prison

A previously convicted felon was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release after he possessed a firearm and ammunition as a restricted person. The news release from the Department of Justice states that the sentence, imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Ted Stewart, comes after 38-year-old Nathaniel Jonas Accawanna of Whiterocks, Utah, pleaded guilty on June 3, 2026, to felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. According to court documents and statements made at Accawanna’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, on May 30, 2025, law enforcement responded to a “shots fired” report in the Whiterocks area of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Upon arrival, law enforcement observed Accawanna struggling with and manipulating a firearm with a partially obliterated serial number. Law enforcement ordered him to stop, but Accawanna did not comply and fled. He threw the firearm away from himself and law enforcement pursued Accawanna who was ultimately arrested. Law enforcement recovered a jammed firearm, magazine, and ammunition from the scene. Accawanna has a violent criminal history that includes multiple felony convictions. The case was investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office’s Vernal Resident Agency.