Two Women Appear in Federal Court for Separate Vehicular Assaults in Warm Springs |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon
April 6, 2012
Defendants Were Driving Intoxicated and Crashed Their Vehicles, Resulting in Injuries to Passengers
PORTLAND, OR—Two defendants appeared this week in U.S. District Court for separate vehicular assaults that occurred on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.
Doriann L. Miller, 24, of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, was sentenced to six months in prison today by U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman for driving under the influence of intoxicants, speeding and eluding the police, crashing her vehicle, and causing the paralysis of one of her passengers. Judge Mosman also ordered Miller to spend up to six months in a residential alcohol treatment program upon her release from the Bureau of Prisons. On November 10, 2011, Miller pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.
According to the prosecutor’s statements in court, on July 6, 2010, Miller was driving her car in Warm Springs when a Warm Springs police officer saw her commit a traffic violation. The officer activated the overhead lights on his police vehicle to pull over Miller’s car. Instead of stopping, Miller attempted to elude the police at a high rate of speed and passed at least two other vehicles on a blind corner in the roadway. Miller’s passengers repeatedly asked her to stop the car, but Miller refused and said, “I got this, I can do it. I can elude.” Miller eventually lost control of her vehicle and drove her car off the road, where the car rolled three times and violently crashed into a tree. As a result of the crash, one of the passengers in Miller’s car was paralyzed and can no longer use her legs. An analysis of a blood draw from Miller after the crash revealed that her blood alcohol content was 0.187 percent, far in excess of the legal limit.
Naomi Joann Brisbois, 27, of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, pled guilty on April 2, 2012 before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon to one count of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury to an individual under 16 years of age. The maximum sentence the court can impose is five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three years of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for July 20, 2012.
According to the prosecutor’s statements in court, on July 29, 2011, Brisbois was driving a minivan in a residential neighborhood in Warm Springs. Brisbois was seen speeding through the neighborhood, with the sliding doors on the van open, and with her 4-year-old daughter in the back seat. Brisbois’ daughter was not restrained in a seat belt or a car seat. Witnesses who saw Brisbois driving were concerned for her daughter, so they followed her, but they lost sight of Brisbois’ van as it went around a corner. The witnesses then heard a loud crash, and when they came around the corner, they saw that Brisbois had lost control of her van and crashed it into a house and some parked cars.
When the witnesses came on the scene, they found Brisbois’ daughter lying awkwardly between the back seats. She was crying and bloody. The witnesses took Brisbois’ daughter to a paramedic, who eventually transported the girl to a hospital. Brisbois’ daughter suffered a broken leg as a result of the crash—her left tibia and fibula were fractured—and she had a small contusion and laceration on her forehead. After the crash, a breathalyzer test revealed that Brisbois’ blood alcohol content was 0.16 percent.
The cases were investigated by the FBI’s office in Bend, Oregon and assisted by the Warm Springs Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Gabriel prosecuted the cases.