Federal Jury Convicts Ponsford Man for Violent Assault on the White Earth Indian Reservation

 ST. PAUL, Minn. – A federal jury convicted a Ponsford man on charges related to a violent assault on the White Earth Indian Reservation, announced Acting U.S. Attorney W. Anders Folk.

Following a four-day trial, Wesley Robert Warren, 22, was convicted on two of four counts, including one count of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

According to the evidence presented at trial, during the early morning hours of June 3, 2020, Warren and another man got into an argument with the victim. The argument escalated into a physical altercation and Warren and the other man knocked out the victim. Once the fight was over and the victim was laying face down on the ground, Warren continued the assault by picking up a 42-pound cinderblock and dropping it on the back of the victim’s head. As a result of the assault the victim was hospitalized for several weeks due to brain trauma and was later transferred to a long-term care facility.

Warren faces up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release on each count of conviction. At sentencing, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the Becker County Sheriff’s Office, the White Earth Police Department, and the FBI Headwaters Safe Trails Task Force.

This case was tried by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deidre Y. Aanstad and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Caleb J. Dogeagle.