Soo Tribe Woman Sentenced to Prison for Knife Assault
U.S. Attorney’s Office July 22, 2009 |
MARQUETTE, MI—Lorraine Marie Smith, 45, of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for assault with a dangerous weapon, U.S. Attorney Donald A. Davis announced today. In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge R. Allan Edgar ordered Smith to serve three years of supervised release following her release from prison, to pay a $100 special assessment, and to have no further contact with the victim. Smith pleaded guilty to a federal indictment charging her with assault with a dangerous weapon on January 20, 2009. The charge stemmed from an incident occurring on Bay Mills Indian Community lands in November 2008 during which Smith stabbed her boyfriend in the back with a 12-inch carving knife during the course of an argument.
U.S. Attorney Davis commended the Bay Mills Tribal Police and the Chippewa County Sheriff Department as well as the FBI for their work in this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D. Lochner.