From the Department of Justice:
GREAT FALLS – A Browning man who admitted to strangling his dating partner on two separate occasions on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation was sentenced on April 29 to 40 months in prison and to two years of supervised release, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said today.
Drew Dion Gallineaux, 27, pleaded guilty on Jan. 13 to two counts of strangulation of a dating partner.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. Gallineaux was detained.
According to court documents, the government alleged that on Dec. 22, 2019, Gallineaux and the victim were drinking and got into an argument. Gallineaux assaulted the victim, including strangling her. The government further alleged that on July 8, 2019, Gallineaux assaulted and strangled the victim while in a vehicle. Both assaults occurred in Browning.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kalah A. Paisley and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney and Blackfeet Tribal Prosecutor Josh Lamson prosecuted the case. In addition to prosecuting misdemeanor crime in Tribal Court, Lamson, as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, assists with the prosecution of felony crimes occurring on the reservation in federal court. The position is funded through a U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance grant that was awarded to the Blackfeet Tribe in 2018. The grant supports collaboration between the Blackfeet Indian Nation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to improve public safety on the reservation.
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