Lummi Nation member sentenced in federal court for strangulation assault
A member of the Lummi Nation was sentenced to 51 months in prison for assault by strangulation in the U.S. District Court in Seattle on Thursday.
Joseph Michael Quincy Jefferson, 36, was found guilty by a jury in January. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Jefferson “punched, pushed, and strangled” a woman referred to as Jane Doe on April 8, 2023. Jefferson claimed at his trial that he acted in self-defense.
Court records show that Jefferson had previously strangled the woman — as well as a former partner — multiple times.
“The seriousness of Jefferson’s conduct and the danger he poses to Doe and other future intimate partners, in light of his history and failure improve after multiple court interventions, cannot be overstated,” prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memorandum.
They asked U.S. District Judge Lauren King to sentence Jefferson to 57 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Jefferson’s public defenders asked for supervised release with home detention and no additional time in custody. They argued in their sentencing memorandum that Jefferson is “clearly the object of increased punishment simply because he chose to exercise his right to proceed to trial.”
Jefferson submitted a letter to the judge, writing that he “sincerely regret(s) that (he) chose to resort to violence in self-defense.”
In her sentencing of Jefferson, King said his “abuse of others has become a pattern.”
She sentenced him to 51 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. He will be required to participate in a domestic violence program and cannot have contact with the victim. Restitution, if any, will be determined at a later date.