Nespelem man sentenced to 10 years in prison after assaulting brother on Colville Reservation

A Nespelem man who previously spent 10 years in prison on a second-degree murder conviction will return to federal prison after striking his brother with a weightlifting bar on the Colville Reservation in July 2019.

Jesse McKay, 45, pleaded guilty to the assault on tribal land in federal court this summer. U.S. District Court Judge Robert H. Whaley sentenced him to a maximum sentence Thursday in federal court. 

The brother was struck in the face with a weightlifting bar and required stitches below his right eye. He was sleeping at the time of the attack, according to court records. 

“The sentence imposed by the Court removes from our streets a serial offender with a history of violent crime,” William Hyslop, U.S. attorney for Eastern Washington, said in a statement announcing the sentencing. 

McKay’s defense argued for a lesser sentence due to documented substance abuse and mental health issues. McKay is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

After his release, McKay will be subject to three years of supervision, according to the terms of the sentence.