Lummi Nation member faces 10 years in prison after conviction for strangulation assault
A member of the Lummi Nation was convicted of assault by strangulation in the U.S. District Court in Seattle on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Justice said Joseph Michael Quincy Jefferson, 35, “punched, pushed, and strangled” a woman on April 8, 2023. Jefferson claimed at his trial that he acted in self-defense, but he was ultimately found guilty by a jury.
Jefferson punched the victim in the face after they got into an argument at about 1 a.m., according to court records. He shoved her into a shelving unit and demanded she give him her phone. When she refused, he tackled her to the floor and began to strangle her, causing her to pass out twice. Her nose was also broken.
The woman fled from the house barefoot and called her friend and neighbor for help. She told her friend that Jefferson “did it again,” and court records show that Jefferson had strangled her — as well as a former partner — multiple times.
“This is a case of gratuitous, intentional violence from someone who was jealous, angry and drunk,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Lee in her closing argument.
Jefferson’s sentencing is scheduled for April 10. He faces up to a decade in prison.
This story was originally published January 23, 2025 at 12:58 PM.