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Press Release

Vian Resident Sentenced For Strangling Intimate Partner

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lucas James Blackbird, age 40, of Vian, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for one count of Assault of a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner by Strangling or Attempting to Strangle in Indian Country.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Vian Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On August 19, 2024, Blackbird pleaded guilty to the charge.  According to investigators, on February 19, 2024, Blackbird strangled the victim, causing life-threatening injuries.  The crimes occurred in Sequoyah County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing in Muskogee.  Blackbird will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan E. Soverly represented the United States.

Updated January 13, 2025

Topics
Indian Country Law and Justice
Violent Crime