Lapwai man sentenced to six years in federal prison following hammer attack

A 20-year-old Lapwai man will serve six years in prison after attacking his mother, another man and a 6-month-old puppy with a hammer on Halloween night in 2021.

Qaya Mikel Gordon, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe, was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye in Coeur d’Alene. A jury in June found Gordon guilty of two counts of assault with a deadly weapon after a two-and-a-half day trial.

The attack took place in a shed where Gordon’s mother and the man were staying, according to court records. Gordon said he intervened in an argument the two were having after visiting to share candy he’d received that evening, and that he’d acted in self-defense. Prosecutors pointed to a previous incident where Gordon smashed the window of a business to aid a burglary and presented evidence that the attack was motivated by the man’s unwillingness to buy beer for Gordon, who was underage.

Gordon’s attorney asked for a three-year sentence. Nye imposed the six-year sentence, along with a three-year period of supervised release. Gordon was also ordered to pay $11,782 in restitution to the victims for medical bills.