Deandre Lamont Brown, 29, a non-Native man from Dulce, N.M., has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for assaulting his intimate partner, a Native American woman. The sentence was handed down in federal court in Santa Fe, N.M., and Brown will also serve three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
Brown was arrested on April 17, 2015, on an indictment charging him with assaulting his intimate partner by strangling or suffocation. The crime occurred on October 3, 2014, on the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in Rio Arriba County, N.M. According to the indictment, Brown committed the crime against the Native American woman, who was his intimate partner at the time.
On January 12, 2016, Brown pled guilty to the indictment and admitted to assaulting the victim by strangling and suffocating her. The case was investigated by the Jicarilla Apache Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson.
The case was brought as part of the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico, which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna. The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project aims to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure, and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native American women is prosecuted in either federal court or tribal court, or both.
The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project was largely driven by input gathered from annual tribal consultations on violence against women and is another step in the Justice Department’s ongoing efforts to increase engagement, coordination, and action on public safety in tribal communities. The project highlights the need for increased awareness and action to address the high rates of violence against Native American women.
The sentence handed down to Deandre Lamont Brown serves as a reminder of the seriousness with which the justice system takes violent crimes against intimate partners. The case also underscores the importance of collaboration between federal and tribal authorities in addressing violent crimes in Native American communities. As the Justice Department continues to work to increase public safety in tribal communities, cases like this one demonstrate the need for ongoing efforts to address the root causes of violence and to support victims of crime.
In addition to the prison sentence and supervised release, the case against Deandre Lamont Brown highlights the importance of holding perpetrators of violent crimes accountable for their actions. The Justice Department’s commitment to addressing violence against Native American women is evident in the Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project and other initiatives aimed at increasing public safety in tribal communities. As the justice system continues to evolve to address the complex issues surrounding violent crime, cases like this one serve as a reminder of the need for ongoing efforts to support victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
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Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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