A federal jury in Minnesota has convicted a man of assault on the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, according to a recent announcement by U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. Mark Allen Isham, 61, was found guilty of his actions in March 2023 when he committed violent attacks on an intimate partner who was staying with him.
The assaults, which were proven through trial evidence and court documents, began on or about March 13, 2023, and intensified six days later. Described as a violent individual, Isham was reported to have punched the victim with a closed fist when enraged. Isham subsequently trapped his victim in the house without access to their wheelchair. It was not until March 24 that the victim, seizing an opportunity while Isham was occupied outside, managed to call 911. Responding to the distress call, officers arrived to find the victim calling out to them after initially being informed by Isham that no one was inside. Injuries including a split lip, black eye, and extensive bruising led to the victim's hospitalization and surgery to mend a broken jaw, inflicted by the defendant.
Jurors in the U.S. District Court presided over by Judge Katherine M. Menendez, convicted Isham on one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and another for substantial bodily injury. The announcement, which came from the U.S. Attorney's Office, noted that a date for Isham's sentencing hearing will be set following the verdict in this five-day trial.
The investigation into the assaults was a joint effort by the FBI and the Bois Forte Police Department. The successful prosecution of the case was led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carla J. Baumel and Nichole J. Carter. Although this conviction brings a measure of justice, it does so against the backdrop of a community grappling with the reality of violence woven, all too often, into the fabric of intimate relationships—a reflection of a national struggle within our walls said to be homes.
