Fort Yates Man Pleads Guilty to Assault
| U.S. Attorney's Office April 27, 2011 |
BISMARCK—United States Attorney Timothy Q. Purdon announced that on April 27, 2011, Joshua C. Luger, 29, of Fort Yates, North Dakota, pleaded guilty in United States District Court to a charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
On October 4, 2010, Luger and the victim were at the Last Chance Saloon in Solen, North Dakota. Outside the bar, Luger confronted the victim, who Luger did not know, and pushed him to the ground. Luger then started using his fists to hit the victim in the head and face. Another patron at the bar intervened and kept Luger away from the victim. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered a broken nose and lost a front tooth.
The charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Indian Affairs - Standing Rock Agency.
Sentencing for Luger has been scheduled for July 18, 2011, in United States District Court in Bismarck, North Dakota, at 10:00 a.m.
Assistant United States Attorney Rick Volk is prosecuting the case.