Lummi Tribal Member Sentenced to Prison for Assault with a Dangerous Weapon
Beat Another Tribal Member with Fists and Furniture

JAMES LAWRENCE JEFFERSON, 31, an enrolled member of the Lummi Indian Tribe, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 35 months in prison and three years of supervised release for assault with a dangerous weapon. At sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Robert S. Lasnik ordered JEFFERSON to undergo drug and alcohol treatment while on supervised release, saying, "If you let your temper and drinking control your life, you will wind up spending the rest of your life in prison."

JEFFERSON pleaded guilty in February 2011. According to the facts admitted in the plea agreement, on March 19, 2010, JEFFERSON assaulted the victim on the Lummi Indian Reservation. JEFFERSON struck the victim about the head and face with his fists and with a piece of household furniture. The victim was badly injured and required reconstructive plastic surgery.

The case was investigated by the Lummi Tribal Police and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Catherine Crisham and J. Tate London. Mr. London serves as a Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

For additional information please contact Emily Langlie, Public Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, at (206) 553-4110 or Emily.Langlie@USDOJ.Gov.