On December 10, 2025, Frederick Daniel Stensgar, a 61-year-old resident of Inchelium, Washington, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to an intimate partner and dating partner in Indian Country. The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice. Following his imprisonment, Stensgar will be subject to three years of supervised release.
Court documents show that on April 20, 2025, Stensgar assaulted his intimate partner with a dangerous weapon during an argument at their home on the Colville Reservation. The victim reported that after being threatened by Stensgar during the dispute, she attempted to protect herself from being struck in the face and suffered a serious laceration on her right hand. Medical personnel determined that the injury was a seven-centimeter, v-shaped cut requiring hospital treatment.
Stensgar has a criminal history that includes multiple convictions for violent offenses, including domestic violence. This is his third conviction for assaulting his intimate partner.
First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano stated: “This case exemplifies the mission of our office to ensure the criminal justice system protects victims and the public as a whole from people like Stensgar who perpetrate violence against their intimate partners, often in secret within the home.”
W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office added: “Mr. Stensgar’s repeated violence is horrifying and inexcusable, especially since it was directed against his long-term partner in their shared home. In this incident, his violent attack caused severe injury necessitating hospital treatment. The FBI and our tribal partners will continue to combat violent crime on tribal lands together, as we do throughout the state of Washington.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Colville Tribal Police Department investigated the case. Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Vander Giessen prosecuted.
