Assault on woman sends Crow Agency man to prison for more than five years

BILLINGS - A Crow Agency man who punched a woman in the face, causing her to lose vision in an eye, was sentenced today to five years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jessed Laslovich said.

The defendant, Darek Paul Birdinground, 34, pleaded guilty in April to assault resulting in serious bodily injury as charged in an indictment.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that while investigating a separate, unrelated assault, the FBI learned in June 2023 of an assault that occurred on Jan. 21, 2023 in Crow Agency, on the Crow Indian Reservation. Agents with the FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs learned that the victim, identified as Jane Doe, was driving a truck in Crow Agency when she saw Birdinground coming up fast behind her in an SUV, so she pulled over. Birdinground got out of his vehicle carrying a baseball bat. After a few angry words, Birdinground punched Doe on the side of her left eye. Birdinground then used the bat to break the windows of the truck. Doe suffered loss of vision in her eye.

The U.S. Attorney's Office prosecuted the case. The FBI and BIA conducted the investigation.

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