A man from Noble County, Justin Randall Brown, 46, has been sentenced to 115 months in federal prison following an assault with a dangerous weapon in Indian Country, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Oklahoma yesterday.
Brown's indictment by a federal grand jury on January 3, included charges of firearms possession by a felon, two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon, serious bodily injury, kidnapping, and the use, along with discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, and it was on a property in Noble County where he attacked the victim on October 27, 2023, beating her with the handle of a blade, issuing death threats and ultimately shooting her in the thigh.
With a string of previous felony convictions for violence such as assault with a deadly weapon in California, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon in Tulsa County District Court, Brown has a noted criminal history, the details of which are found in public records.
The jurisdiction of this case falls under federal court because Brown is a member of the Otoe-Missouria Tribe and the crimes occurred on the tribe's land, with his guilty plea to Count 2 of the indictment entered on May 8, where he admitted his use of a firearm to assault the victim, in "Indian Country" as referred to in the legal context.
According to an announcement by the Department of Justice yesterday, U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton accounted for the severity of the assault, Brown’s extensive criminal past, and the imperative of safeguarding the public in his sentencing decision, which also stipulates a post-incarceration supervised release term of three years and restitution owed to the victim amounting to $17,256.43.
Additionally, the case was prosecuted as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods—a program aiming to slash violent crime rates—and falls under the umbrella of "Operation 922," prioritizing the prosecution of federal crimes linked to domestic violence within Oklahoma's Western District. More details on these initiatives are available through the Justice Department's resources.
