Red Lake Woman Sentenced for Maiming Another

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court in Duluth, a 25-year-old Red Lake woman was sentenced for maiming another Red Lake woman by biting her ear off and biting her nose.

United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Joelyn Rose Hart to five years of probation, including six months in a community corrections facility, on one count of maiming.

Hart was indicted on June 8, 2011 and pleaded guilty on July 14, 2011.

In her plea agreement, Hart admitted that on January 1, 2009, she intended to torture, maim, and disfigure another woman by biting off her ear and biting her nose. The incident occurred during a New Year’s Day party on the Red Lake Indian Reservation. The victim had to undergo three reconstructive surgeries to re-attach and repair her ear.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle E. Jones.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.