Contact:
JEFF J. DAVIS
ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY
PHONE: (616) 456-2404

TRIBAL MEMBER PLEADS TO FELONY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

FRIDAY, MAY 16, 2008 - Marquette, Michigan – David A. Metzger, 23, of Wilson, Michigan and a member of the Hannahville Indian Community, has plead guilty to a one count federal Indictment charging him with domestic assault by an habitual offender, U.S. Attorney Charles R. Gross announced today. Metzger has five prior domestic violence convictions from the Hannahville Indian Community Tribal Court. Metzger will be sentenced on August 22, 2008, at which time he faces up to five years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for August 22, 2008.

Metzger was charged and plead to a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 117. This section was enacted in 2006 to provide stiffer penalties for repeat domestic violence offenders in Indian Country. U.S. Attorney Gross noted that “this was the first time that this statute has been used in the Western District of Michigan, but it won’t be the last. The habitual offender provision is a powerful tool to aid Indian tribes in addressing domestic violence within their communities. Indian women are victims of domestic violence at rates that far exceed the national average, and we hope that by aggressively prosecuting habitual offenders we will send a strong deterrent message to those who would prey upon the helpless.”

This case was investigated by the Hannahville Indian Community Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Davis.