Wapato Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Shooting Family Member

SPOKANE—Today, Michael C. Ormsby, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Kara Lynn Stahi, age 20, of the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation, was sentenced today after having pleaded guilty in December 2012 to discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence. United States District Court Judge Lonny Suko sentenced Stahi to a 10-year term of imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court supervision upon her release from federal prison.

During the court proceedings it was disclosed that, on July 22, 2012, a call was placed to 911 about a shooting on the Yakama Nation Indian Reservation. Yakama Tribal Police officers quickly responded to the scene and discovered an individual with multiple gunshot wounds. The tribal officers also discovered several discharged ammunition casings. The victim was immediately transported to the hospital. A detective with the Yakama Police Department contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a joint investigation began to determine the identity of the shooter.

The subsequent investigation revealed that during the early morning hours of July 22, 2012, Stahi had an argument with a family member. During the argument, James Anthony Lagmay retrieved a loaded firearm. Stahi took the firearm from Lagmay and used it to shoot the family member-victim several times. After the shooting, Lagmay and Stahi, both of whom are previously convicted felons and, therefore, prohibited from possessing firearms, fled the crime scene. Federal arrest warrants were issued for Stahi and Lagmay, who were both arrested in the fall of 2012. Lagmay subsequently pleaded guilty in October 2012 to being a previously convicted felon in possession of ammunition. On January 31, 2013, Lagmay was sentenced to 15-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court supervision upon release from federal prison.

Michael C. Ormsby said, “This investigation is a superb example of the strong partnership among Tribal and Federal law enforcement personnel. The United States Attorney’s Office; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Yakama Tribal Police Department; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are committed to apprehending and prosecuting criminals who utilize firearms to commit crimes, particularly when the crime is as egregious as the offense committed in this case.”

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Yakama Nation Tribal Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Thomas J. Hanlon, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.