Warm Springs man receives 3 1/2-year federal prison term for brutally attacking woman with piece of firewood

PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A 24-year-old Warm Springs man has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in federal prison Tuesday for brutally assaulting a woman with a piece of firewood inside a home on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Devere Ben Charley was sentenced to 40 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

According to court documents, on Nov. 29, 2022, officers from the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department responded to a report of an assault that had occurred at a home on the reservation.

In the residence, officers found a woman lying on a couch with severe injuries to her head, face and hand.

The victim told the officers that Charley had been drinking and had assaulted her. The victim’s daughter observed her injured mother while monitoring a home security camera online, away from the home. The daughter also saw Charley throw a piece of bloody firewood into a stove, prosecutors said.

The victim was transported to a local hospital where she was treated for a broken nose, fractured arm, multiple lacerations and a concussion. The victim later required a blood transfusion due to the significant blood loss from wounds on her head and face.

On Dec. 6, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned an indictment charging Charley with one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Later, on Feb. 8 of this year, a second charge, assault with a dangerous weapon, was added by superseding indictment.

On Sept. 29, Charley pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.

The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from WSPD. It was prosecuted by Pamela Paaso, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.