Keller Woman Sentenced to 120 Months’ Imprisonment for Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence

SPOKANE, WA—Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Leona Sutton, age 34, of Keller, Washington, was sentenced for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and assault with a dangerous weapon. The Honorable Wm. Fremming Nielsen sentenced Leona Sutton to a term of 120 months and one day imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court supervision after she is released from prison. The judge also ordered her to pay $5,796.24 in restitution. Leona Sutton, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, has been in custody since October 2, 2011.

Leona Sutton was convicted of these crimes following a three-day jury trial in Federal District Court in Spokane, Washington. Evidence introduced at trial established that during the evening of October 2, 2011, Leona Sutton shot an individual in the chest with a .22 caliber rifle. The shooting occurred at the victim’s residence in Keller, Washington, on the Colville Indian Reservation. The victim, who survived the shooting, and two other individuals present at the time of the shooting testified at trial.

Michael C. Ormsby stated, “Crimes of violence will not be tolerated in the Eastern District of Washington, particularly those crimes occurring on Tribal Lands. The Sutton case is yet another example of the United States Attorney’s Office’s commitment to prosecute vigorously violent crimes.”

This case was investigated by the Colville Triable Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by George J.C. Jacobs, III, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.