Darold ZunieFeathers, 28, plead guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon of unusual choice — his mouth. The victim had to have a finger amputated because of the vicious attack.

A New Mexico man faces potentially a decade in federal prison after pleading guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon that resulted in an amputation, officials announced Monday. His choice of weapon was unusual— not a knife or even an axe or a bat but his mouth.

Darold ZunieFeathers, a member of the Zuni tribal area in New Mexico, viciously bit another man resulting in the victim needing to have one finger and part of another amputated, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office .

The ferocious attack happened on the Pueblo of Zuni reservation when the pair were out on a late-night drive to buy cigarettes, according to court filings out of the District of New Mexico. Human bite attacks - though rare - can be exceptionally dangerous due to high risk of infection .

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to prosecuting assaults committed with dangerous weapons in Indian Country, including assaults perpetrated through biting. While not traditionally thought of in this way, teeth can legally be considered dangerous weapons,” Holland S. Kastrin, acting U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico, told USA TODAY. “In this case, where the biting assault resulted in an amputation and partial amputation, there can be no doubt about the harm that teeth can inflict.”

ZunieFeathers, 28, and the victim - called John Doe in court filings - were hanging out with friends when they decided to go buy more cigarettes before the gas station closed, according to the guilty plea agreement.

“I drove, and then decided to turn down a side dirt road,” ZunieFeathers says of what happened leading up to the attack. “I struck him repeatedly, and then I bit John Doe multiple times on the torso, arm and hand. The bites severely damaged John Doe’s hand.”

The attack happened on the Pueblo of Zuni reservation in McKinley County, New Mexico. It took place between Dec. 16 and 17, 2021, according to court filings. ZunieFeathers pleaded guilty Friday.

Pueblo of Zuni sits 150 miles west of Albuquerque in the Zuni River valley bordering Arizona. It is home to the Zuni Tribe, an indigenous Pueblo people.

Court filings don’t make clear what exactly sparked the assault. An attorney for ZunieFeathers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

ZunieFeathers was previously sentenced in 2017 to two and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter after running a man over with his blue pickup truck, according to federal court filings.

How common are human bite attacks?

Human bite attacks are fairly unusual. Healthcare providers treat about 250,000 bites annually, which accounts for just 3% of all bites seen in emergency rooms, according to the Cleveland Clinic , a nonprofit academic medical center.

Most bites happen between children. Bites among adults often happen indirectly during fist fights when someone gets hit in the mouth. Human teeth aren't very sharp so usually these only cause bruising, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

The actual force of a human bite is quite weak. A human bite amounts to 162 psi, says the Cleveland Clinic. Some dogs on the other hand can reach up to 250 psi. A bear bite can be 1,000 psi.

‘Even more dangerous than animal bites’

Human bites remain dangerous for another reason— infection.

The Mayo Clinic says human bites are “as dangerous or even more dangerous than animal bites.” The sheer amount of bacteria and viruses lingering in the human mouth is what makes them so dangerous, according to the healthcare institution.

Risk of infection from a human bite is so great that among children, one in ten who are bitten will develop an infection, the Cleveland Clinic says.

Toddler bite results in amputation

The potential dangers from a human bite are so great that even a toddler can leave someone with a life-changing injury.

A 3-year-old child bit a 68-year-old man on the forearm leading to a gangrene infection, according to a 2021 study published in the Journal of International Medical Research. The man had to have his limb amputated within 24 hours.

Photos of the infected arm included in the study show a chunk of skin missing from the 4-centimeter bite. The arm below the bite is black and swollen.

Michael Loria is a national reporter on the USA TODAY breaking news desk. Contact him at [email protected], @mchael_mchael or on Signal at (202) 290-4585.