Laguna Pueblo Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Domestic Violence by a Habitual Offender Charge

ALBUQUERQUE – Last week, Timothy Luke Perea, 41, a member and resident of Laguna Pueblo, pled guilty to an indictment charging him with domestic assault by a habitual offender. Perea entered his guilty plea on Jan. 4, 2013, under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The guilty plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales and DuWayne W. Honahni, Sr., Special Agent in Charge of District IV of BIA’s Office of Justice Services.

During his plea hearing, Perea admitted assaulting his wife, also a member of Laguna Pueblo, on March 6, 2011. In entering his guilty plea, Perea acknowledged that he had at least two prior convictions for assault against a spouse, household member, intimate partner, or a person with whom he was cohabiting.

Perea was prosecuted federally for the March 6, 2011 assault because he had two prior domestic violence convictions. Court records reflect that Perea was convicted of assault resulting in serious bodily injury on Aug. 29, 1997, in federal court in New Mexico. Perea also was convicted of aggravated battery against a household member on Oct. 20, 1997, in the Second Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.
At sentencing, Perea faces a maximum penalty of five years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Perea has been in custody since his arrest on Oct. 17, 2012, and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services, Southern Pueblos Agency, and the Laguna Pueblo Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Adams.