Source: Office of United States Attorneys
MIAMI – This week, a South Florida federal judge sentenced a member of Miccosukee tribe to almost 17 years in federal prison for shooting and seriously injuring an unarmed man on the reservation.
During a heated argument with the victim (also a Miccosukee tribal member), Sutanga Rex Cypress, 43, pulled out a Sig Sauer firearm and threatened to shoot the victim. Cypress pulled the trigger, hitting the victim in the abdomen. A helicopter team airlifted the victim to a hospital, where he received medical treatment. The victim survived but suffered permanent injury. In September, Cypress pled guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm, assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
In addition to a term of incarceration and $50,000 fine, United States District Judge Jacqueline Becerra sentenced Cypress to five years of supervised release once he is out of prison. Judge Becerra will hold a hearing on May 6, to determine the amount of restitution Cypress must pay his victim.
U.S. Attorney Hayden O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin E. Fleck of FBI Miami, and Chief Roland Pandolfi of the Miccosukee Police Department made the announcement.
FBI Miami’s Safe Trails Task Force and Miccosukee Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Latoya Brown and Vanessa Bonhomme are prosecuting it.
You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20195.
###