California Man Sentenced for Assault with the Intent to Commit Murder and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury

United States Attorney Randolph J. Seiler announced that a Paramount, California, man convicted of Assault with the Intent to Commit Murder and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury was sentenced on May 15, 2017, by Chief Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Daniel Hess, a/k/a Jason Hess, age 44, was sentenced to 20 years in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund as to the charge of Assault with the Intent to Commit Murder. Hess was sentenced to 10 years in custody, followed by 3 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund as to the charge of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentences were ordered to be served consecutively.

The conviction stems from Hess, Phyllis Lucero, and Seth Hernandez, driving to a 73-year-old woman’s home on the evening of October 17, 2015, and breaking into the home with the intent to assault the woman and her adult son and steal their belongings, mainly cash. The three defendants wore masks covering their faces in order to disguise their appearances. Once the three masked individuals gained entrance to the home, the two male defendants assaulted the adult male. Hess strangled the male victim, rendering him unconscious. Hess assaulted the 73-year-old female victim by kicking her as she laid in a pool of her own blood. The defendants went in and out of the home removing the victims’ personal property and loaded it into the female victim’s truck. Hess drove Lucero and Hernandez to separate locations within the Pine Ridge Reservation before returning to the victims’ home. When Hess returned a second time, he removed additional personal property and bound the male victim’s ankles with an electrical cord and his hands with duct tape. Hess bound the elderly woman’s hands and ankles with duct tape.

Upon being transported to the Rapid City Regional Hospital and admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, both victims were found to have extensive bruising and lacerations to their heads, bleeding on their brains, and rib fractures. The elderly woman had several lacerations to her face and head, which required 17 staples to secure.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan Poppen and Ben Patterson prosecuted the case.

Hess was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.