COEUR D'ALENE - Roy James Broncheau, 35, of Kamiah, Idaho, was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Coeur d’Alene to 24 months in prison for strangulation, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered three years of supervised release following Broncheau’s release from prison.
On December 6, 2017, Broncheau, an enrolled Nez Perce tribal member, pleaded guilty to the federal crime of strangulation. His guilty plea stemmed from his strangulation or attempted strangulation of his female partner. The assault occurred on the Nez Perce tribal reservation.
The federal crime of strangulation, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(8), became effective in March 2013. As in this case, the crime is most often used by federal prosecutors to charge defendants who commit non-fatal strangulation offenses against a spouse, intimate partner or dating partner. The statute defines "strangling" as "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying pressure to the throat or neck, regardless of whether that conduct results in any visible injury or whether there is any intent to kill or protractedly injure the victim." The statute also covers suffocation and attempted strangulation or suffocation.
The case was investigated by the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
