Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assault on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation

PORTLAND, Ore.—On December 19, 2023, a Warm Springs, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison for brutally assaulting a woman with a piece of firewood inside a residence on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Devere Ben Charley, 24, was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.

According to court documents, on November 29, 2022, officers from the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department (WSPD) responded to a report of an assault that had occurred inside a residence on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. In the residence, the officers located an adult victim lying on a couch with severe injuries to her head, face, and hand. The victim told the officers that Charley had been drinking and had assaulted her. The victim’s daughter observed her injured mother while monitoring a home security camera online away from the residence. The daughter further observed Charley throw a piece of bloody firewood into a stove.

The adult victim was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for a broken nose, fractured arm, multiple lacerations, and a concussion. The victim later required a blood transfusion due to the significant blood loss from wounds on her head and face.

On December 6, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Charley with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Later, on February 8, 2023, a second charge, assault with a dangerous weapon, was added by superseding indictment.

On September 29, 2023, Charley pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

This case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from WSPD. It was prosecuted by Pamela Paaso, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.