Laguna Pueblo Man Sentenced to Probation for Federal Misdemeanor Assault Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Lawrence Lockwood, 32, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to two years of probation for his misdemeanor assault conviction.

Lockwood was arrested on Feb. 11, 2015, on a criminal complaint alleging that Lockwood assaulted his intimate partner on Jan. 5, 2015, during a domestic dispute by shoving her onto a bed and restricting her movement.

On April 22, 2015, Lockwood pled guilty to a misdemeanor information charging him with simple assault.  In entering his guilty plea, Lockwood admitted that on Jan. 5, 2015, he forcefully pushed the victim at a location within the Pueblo of Laguna in Cibola County, N.M.

 This case was investigated by the Laguna Agency of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services and the Pueblo of Laguna Tribal Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Novaline D. Wilson and David Adams.

It was brought pursuant to the Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (Tribal SAUSA) Pilot Project in the District of New Mexico which is sponsored by the Justice Department’s Office on Violence Against Women under a grant administered by the Pueblo of Laguna.  The Tribal SAUSA Pilot Project 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.