United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced the guilty plea of TIMOTHY JAMES LAJEUNESSE, 28, for assaulting a minor on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. LAJEUNESSE, who was indicted on May 21, 2019, pleaded guilty today before Senior Judge Ann D. Montgomery in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 5, 2020.
According to LAJEUNESSE’s guilty plea, in the early morning hours of Jan. 13, 2019, after a night of drinking, LAJEUNESSE returned to his residence on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. LAJEUNESSE initially went to sleep, but upon waking up, he grabbed a minor, who was also sleeping in the residence, and attempted to strangle her. In the course of the assault he punched and kicked her. As a result of the assault, the minor sustained a large bruise on her forehead, smaller bruises throughout the rest of her body, and marks on her neck that are consistent with attempted strangulation.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Red Lake Department of Public Safety and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.
Assistant United States Attorney Angela M. Munoz-Kaphing is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Information:
TIMOTHY JAMES LAJEUNESSE, 28
Red Lake, Minn.
Convicted:
* Assault resulting in substantial bodily injury, 1 count
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
