Red Lake Man Indicted for Firing AK-47 Assault Rifle at a Residence

A 20-year-old Red Lake man has been indicted in federal court in Minneapolis for allegedly firing an AK-47 assault rifle at a residence on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The indictment charges Jesse Dale Roy, a member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, with one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

The indictment alleges that on March 14, 2011, Roy assaulted a female member of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa with a rifle with intent to do bodily harm. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, the assault occurred when Roy fired gun shots into the woman’s home. Police subsequently responded to the reported shooting, which occurred shortly after midnight on that date. The shots were allegedly fired from a vehicle, which was ultimately stopped on a traffic violation just east of Highway 89 and County Road 32. Officers reportedly spotted several spent shell casings in the vehicle, and Roy, the driver of the vehicle, was arrested. Police reportedly found one rifle casing near the area where the vehicle was when the victim heard shots and seven bullet holes in the exterior of victim’s residence. One bullet fragment was found inside a kitchen cabinet. Police followed the path the vehicle was believed to have taken when it left the residence and located an AK-47 style assault rifle in a snow bank. Police also recovered a cloth gun case along that same path. The gun case contained a magazine that was compatible with the AK-47 style assault rifle and was loaded with live rounds of ammunition.

If convicted, Roy faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office and the Blackduck Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin S. Ueland.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

An indictment is a determination by a grand jury that there is probable cause to believe that offenses have been committed by a defendant. A defendant, of course, is presumed innocent until he or she pleads guilty or is proven guilty at trial.