A federal grand jury in Portland has indicted a 25-year-old Warm Springs man on five felony assault charges after prosecutors say he strangled two children and an adult partner, leaving both kids with facial swelling and bruising that officers documented at the scene. Cedrick Bruce Davis faces charges stemming from alleged events between Oct. 19 and Oct. 22, including two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of assault by strangulation.
According to KTVZ, Warm Springs Police Department officers responded to a residence on the reservation on Oct. 22 after the adult victim called 911 because she felt unsafe. Officers who arrived found substantial physical trauma on both minor children, including facial swelling and bruising, the outlet reported. As detailed by KDRV, one of the children identified Davis as the person who caused her facial injury.
Allegations Span Days of Abuse
Court documents cited by the station describe a pattern of violence toward the children and the adult victim over the several days in question. The adult victim told investigators Davis bit the children, struck them with his fists and a BB gun, threw them, and knocked their heads together, per the same account. She also reported that Davis strangled her, struck her in the ribs with a BB gun, and held a knife to her neck while she tried to protect the children.
Federal prosecutors allege that between Oct. 19 and Oct. 22, Davis strangled both children with intent to commit murder and caused them serious bodily injury by striking and wounding them, and that he separately assaulted and tried to strangle the adult victim. According to court documents, Davis waived his Miranda rights and admitted to physically assaulting the victims. An affidavit cited in the reporting states that investigators reported Davis acknowledged slapping the children in the face, striking their heads together, and strangling each child multiple times — and that one child lost consciousness during a strangulation assault. Davis also allegedly admitted to strangling the adult victim and striking her in the abdomen.
U.S. Attorney Calls Allegations Shocking
U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford said the conduct alleged in the indictment is shocking and deeply disturbing. “No child should endure this kind of abuse, and no victim should live in fear of violence in their own home,” Bradford said. Per Bradford, Davis is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Warm Springs Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Arin C. Heinz of the District of Oregon's Special Prosecutions Unit. If convicted, each count of assault with intent to commit murder carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, while the assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault by strangulation counts each carry up to 10 years.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and as Gorge News Center notes, a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
