Omak Man Sentenced to 115 Months in Federal Prison for Assault on a Colville Tribal Officer

Spokane – Joseph H. Harrington, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Brandon Shea Marchand, age 44, of Omak, Washington, and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, was sentenced today after having pleaded guilty on September 25, 2018, to Assault on a Federal Officer Resulting in Bodily Injury. United States District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson sentenced Marchand to a 115-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court supervision after he is released from federal prison. The sentence was at the high end of the advisory range recommended by the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

According to information disclosed during court proceedings, a Colville Tribal Officer, who is an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, attempted to serve an arrest warrant on Marchand in February 2018, on the Colville Reservation. Marchand drove away on a four-wheeler, causing the officer to pursue him over wintry terrain while Marchand yelled he was not going to jail, and this would be an officer-assisted suicide call.

Marchand threatened the officer with a machete and a makeshift flame-thrower constructed out of a propane torch, and sprayed the officer with bear mace, hitting him in the face, eyes, and upper body. Marchand also threw a paint can at the officer’s head, causing lacerations and bleeding on his face and head. As Marchand admitted in court documents, his conduct recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm to the pursuing officer.

Marchand continued to refuse to comply with the pursuing officer’s instructions and started to enter a residence the officer believed contained weapons. The officer discharged his service weapon, hitting Marchand in the leg. The officer immediately administered first aid to Marchand, including applying a tourniquet around his leg, until first responders from the Okanagan County Sheriff’s Department and Omak Police Department could respond. The officer and Marchand were taken to separate hospitals to receive medical treatment. To prevent flight, Marchand was kept under watch at the hospital by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department, the Spokane Police Department, the Safe Streets Task Force, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

During the sentencing proceedings, Judge Peterson noted Marchand’s violent criminal history and years of drug use, and expressed appreciation to the Tribal officer for embracing the challenging task of acting as a law enforcement officer on the Colville Reservation. Judge Peterson observed that Marchand had not only created a dangerous situation by attempting to elude the officer, but he had also engaged in a years-long course of violent criminal conduct affecting numerous other individuals on the Colville Reservation.

United States Attorney Harrington said, “Tribal, local, state and federal law enforcement officers place themselves in harm’s way every day to protect the community. When individuals engage in criminal conduct and place our law enforcement officers and the public in danger of physical harm, it is a serious matter and warrants serious consequences. The sentence imposed holds Marchand accountable for his actions.”

This case was prosecuted under the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. PSN is a federal, state, and local law enforcement collaboration to identify, investigate, and prosecute individuals responsible for violent crimes in our neighborhoods. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is partnering with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement to specifically identify the criminals responsible for violent crime in the Eastern District of Washington and pursue criminal prosecution.

This case was investigated by the Colville Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by David M. Herzog, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington.