Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Defendant convicted of assaulting intimate partner in their home on Lummi Nation Indian Reservation
Seattle – A member of Lummi Nation was convicted today in U.S. District Court in Seattle of Assault by Strangulation, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Joseph Michael Quincy Jefferson, 35, was found guilty following a seven- day jury trial. Jurors deliberated about ninety minutes before reaching the guilty verdict. U.S. District Judge Lauren King scheduled sentencing for April 10, 2025.
According to records filed in the case and testimony at trial, on the night of April 8, 2023, Jefferson punched, pushed, and strangled his live-in partner. Sitting on her back he used the crook of his elbow to apply pressure to her neck, strangling her and causing her to black out twice. When the victim regained consciousness, she ran from the home barefoot and in her underwear, calling a friend and a neighbor requesting help. The victim went to the Lummi Nation Police Department and to the hospital. The victim made consistent statements to police and to those giving medical care, that she had been strangled. Medical providers documented her injuries that were consistent with being punched, pushed into a metal bookcase, and strangled. Her nose was broken.
At trial, Jefferson claimed he acted in self-defense. During her testimony, the victim minimized Jefferson’s conduct.
In closing arguments prosecutors detailed how the medical records and recorded statements proved the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. “He was the aggressor… There is no evidence that he faced immediate use of unlawful force,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Celia Lee said in her closing argument. “This is a case of gratuitous, intentional violence from someone who was jealous, angry, and drunk.”
Jefferson has been in custody since his bond was revoked in late October 2024 due to his ongoing contact with the victim in violation of his conditions of pretrial release. He remains in custody pending sentencing.
Assault by Strangulation is punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The case was investigated by the Lummi Nation Police Department and the FBI.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Celia Lee and Erika Evans. Ms. Lee serves as a Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Ensuring public safety on tribal lands is a critical responsibility of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington.