Three Defendants Plead Guilty in Federal Court in Separate Felony Assaults in Warm Springs

PORTLAND, OR—Three defendants pled guilty this week in United States District Court to separate felony assaults that occurred on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. On November 7, 2011, Monty Tewee, 21, of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Ancer L. Haggerty to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The maximum sentence the court can impose is 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. According to the prosecutor’s statements in court, Tewee assaulted his 5-week old baby by squeezing the baby, which caused the baby to suffer multiple broken ribs, a lacerated liver, and extreme physical pain. The extent of the baby’s injuries required him to be air lifted from St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, Oregon, to Oregon Health and Science University in Portland for specialized trauma care. Sentencing is scheduled for January 23, 2012.

On November 7, 2011, Krystal Lee Finnley, 20, of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Ancer L. Haggerty to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm. The maximum sentence the court can impose is 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. According to the prosecutor’s statements in court, Finnley was at her residence on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation when she heard that a certain person was at a nearby residence. Finnley then went to that residence to confront the person about a past dispute. After a short conversation, Finnley took a knife from her pocket and sliced the throat of the person she confronted. The person almost died, as the wound from Finnley’s knife came extremely close to the victim’s carotid artery. The victim, however, survived, after he received 11 staples in his neck to close the wound. Sentencing is scheduled for January 17, 2012.

Today, Doriann L. Miller, (A.K.A., Doriann L. Allen) 23, of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman to one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The maximum sentence the court can impose is 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. According to the prosecutor’s statements in court, Miller was driving her car in Warm Springs when a Warm Springs Police officer saw her commit a traffic violation. The Warm Springs Police Officer activated the overhead lights on his police vehicle to pull over Miller’s car. Instead of stopping, Miller attempted to elude the police at a high rate of speed. Miller’s passengers asked Miller to stop the car, but she refused. Miller eventually lost control of her vehicle and crashed. As a result, one of the passengers in Miller’s car was paralyzed and can no longer use her legs. An analysis of a blood draw from Miller after the crash revealed that her blood alcohol content was 0.187, far in excess of the legal limit. Sentencing is scheduled for February 6, 2012.

“Violent assaults have tragic consequences on the lives of victims,” said S. Amanda Marshall, United States Attorney for the District of Oregon. “The level of violence on Indian Reservations is unacceptably high. Our office will continue to work with tribal law enforcement to bring offenders to justice.”

The cases were investigated by the FBI’s Office in Bend, Oregon, and by the Warm Springs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel is prosecuting the cases.