Plummer man pleads guilty to strangulation

COEUR d'ALENE - A 27-year-old Plummer man pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to strangulation.

James Samuels Jr. got into an argument with a woman he was dating on Nov. 15, 2013, and, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, admitted to grabbing her by the neck. He then strangled her and the woman was eventually transported to the hospital with bruises to her face and neck.

The charge, according to the release, can carry a sentence as long as 10 years in prison, as much as a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

Samuels is scheduled to be sentenced for the crime on March 3, 2015, at the federal courthouse in Coeur d'Alene.

According to the release, the case was investigated by the Coeur d'Alene Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Samuels was prosecuted in federal court because the crime occurred on the reservation and he is a member of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe.