Laguna Pueblo Man Sentenced to Forty-Six Months in Federal Prison for Being a Habitual Domestic Violence Offender - Perea was Prosecuted as Part of a Federal Initiative to Address the Epidemic Incidence of Violence Against Native Women

ALBUQUERQUE – Timothy Luke Perea, 41, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release.  Perea’s sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales, DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services, and Police Chief Michelle F. Ray of the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department.
           
Perea was arrested in Oct. 2012 on an indictment charging him with domestic assault by a habitual offender.  He has been in federal custody since that time.  On Jan. 4, 2013, Perea pled guilty to the indictment and admitted assaulting his wife, also a member of Laguna Pueblo, on March 6, 2011.

Perea was prosecuted federally for the March 6, 2011 assault because he had two prior domestic violence convictions.  Court records reflect that Perea was convicted of assault resulting in serious bodily injury on Aug. 29, 1997, in federal court in New Mexico.  Perea also was convicted of aggravated battery against a household member on Oct. 20, 1997, in the Second Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.   

This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Police Department, and was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Adams.  It was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women, and seeks to train tribal prosecutors in federal law, procedure and investigative techniques to increase the likelihood that every viable violent offense against Native 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 on-going efforts to increase engagement, coordination and action on public safety in tribal communities.