Plummer Man Sentenced For Strangulation

COEUR D’ALENE - James Andrew Samuels, Jr., 27, of Plummer, Idaho, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for strangulation, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  The Court also ordered that Samuels serve three years supervised release following his sentence and complete anger management counseling.  He pleaded guilty to the charge in December 2014.         

According to the plea agreement, in November 2013, Samuels got into an argument with a woman he was dating.  Samuels admitted that during the argument he grabbed the victim by the neck and strangled or attempted to strangler her.  The woman sustained bruises to her face and neck.

U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson stated that the conviction and sentence are part of the office’s effort to ensure that Native American women and families are protected from domestic violence.  “The strangulation statute and the Violence Against Women Act are useful tools to fight domestic violence crimes that endanger women and children on reservations.  This violence tears apart families, damages children, and may even have lethal consequences.  I commend the law enforcement officers that investigated this case and the victim who stood up to her abuser.”

The case was investigated by the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case was prosecuted in federal court because the crime occurred on the Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation and the defendant is an enrolled member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.