Duane Antonio Martell Sentenced in U.S. District Court
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 12, 2013 |
The United States Attorney’s Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls on December 11, 2013, before Chief U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen, Duane Antonio Martell, a 23-year-old resident of Poplar and an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe, was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 60 months
- Special assessment: $200
- Supervised release: three years
Martell was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
In an offer of proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura B. Weiss, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On October 10, 2012, Martell was spending time at a house in Poplar and fell asleep in a bedroom that was not his. The rightful occupant of the bedroom, the victim, entered the room and asked Martell to leave. He got up, punched her, threw her to the floor.
He eventually stopped when another person intervened. The victim had a shattered nasal bone, two black eyes, and fractures in her jaw, and she was bleeding from her nose and ears.
The offense occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the truth in sentencing guidelines mandate that Martell will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, Martell does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for good behavior. However, this reduction will not exceed 15 percent of the overall sentence.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Criminal Investigation Division.