U.S. Department
of Justice
Westerly Resident Charged With Alleged Assault On Narragansett Indian Tribal Land
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Troy Lake Simonds, 26, of Westerly, was released on unsecured bond following an initial appearance today in U.S. District Court in Providence on a federal criminal complaint charging him with assault with a dangerous weapon, with intent to do bodily harm. Simonds is charged in connection with an alleged stabbing incident that occurred on Tribal land on August 9, 2014, during the Tribe’s annual Powwow celebration.
According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant and criminal complaint filed with the court, it is alleged that Simonds assaulted a person who was attempting to intervene in large altercation on a roadway on Tribal land. The victim alleges that he was stabbed in the back and in the chest as he attempted to assist a woman who had allegedly been involved in a motor vehicle accident. According to the affidavit, several witnesses identified Simonds as the alleged attacker.
Simonds is charged in federal court pursuant to the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. 1153 (Offenses Committed within Indian Country) which provides in pertinent part:
Any Indian who commits against the person or property of another Indian any of the following offenses, namely . . . a felony assault . . . within the Indian Country shall be subject to the same law and penalties as all other persons committing any of the above offenses within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States.
Simonds arrest and initial appearance before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Patricia A. Sullivan is announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha and Narragansett Indian Tribal Police Chief Antone Monroe.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gerard B. Sullivan.
The matter was investigated by the Narragansett Indian Tribal Police, with the assistance of the FBI.
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