COEUR D’ALENE - Joseph L. James, 30, of Plummer, Idaho, pleaded guilty today in federal court to assault resulting in serious bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. James was indicted by a federal grand jury in Coeur d’Alene on Nov. 20, 2013.
According to the plea agreement, James admitted that on April 12, 2013, he hit his then-girlfriend in the face and broke her nose. The case was prosecuted federally because James and the victim are both enrolled members of a federally recognized Indian tribe, and the offense occurred on the Coeur d’Alene reservation.
The charge of assault resulting in serious bodily injury is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
James is scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2014, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Coeur d’Alene.
This case was jointly investigated by Coeur D’Alene Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
