Madras Man Sentenced to Probation for Discharging Firearm During Road Rage Incident on Warm Springs Indian Reservation

U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Oregon
10 June 2019

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PORTLAND, Ore.—Dat Quoc Do, 28, of Madras, Oregon, was sentenced today to three years’ probation after being convicted at trial for the unlawful use of a firearm during a road rage altercation on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in September 2017.

According to court documents and information shared during trial, on September 14, 2017, Do was riding in the front passenger seat of a vehicle driven by his girlfriend. The two were driving at night eastbound on Highway 26 on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation when they came upon another eastbound vehicle being driven by an adult member of the tribe. Also in the second vehicle were the driver’s adult daughter and her 12-year-old niece.

Do’s girlfriend was driving aggressively and tailgating the crime victims’ vehicle for over a mile when the crime victim motioned for her to pass. At some point in the encounter, the driver’s adult teen daughter threw a water bottle at, but did not hit Do’s vehicle. In response, Do fired several shots out the front passenger window of their vehicle, but did not hit the crime victims’ vehicle. After the initial shooting, Do’s girlfriend raised the passenger window and continued to tailgate the other vehicle. When she had a clear lane to pass, Do’s girlfriend moved to change lanes.

As Do’s girlfriend began to overtake the other car, Do extended his hand holding a handgun out of their vehicle’s front passenger window. Believing that Do was pointing the gun in her direction, the victim driver rapidly applied her brakes. Do fired several additional rounds as they drove away.

The victim driver called Warm Springs Tribal Police to report the incident while continuing to follow Do’s vehicle. A patrol officer later stopped their vehicle and ordered Do and his girlfriend out at gunpoint. Both were taken into custody. Officers recovered a Springfield Armory XD .45 caliber handgun in the front-passenger door pocket of the vehicle and a .45 caliber magazine partially loaded with five rounds in the center console.

During sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon ordered Do to pay $1,158 in restitution to his victims to cover their lost wages during trial preparation and mileage to and from pretrial meetings, trial and sentencing in Portland.

On March 15, 2019, Do was convicted by a federal jury in Portland on two counts of unlawful use of a weapon.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department and prosecuted by Paul T. Maloney and Lewis S. Burkhart, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.

On March 3, 1994, the FBI initiated “Operation Safe Trails” with the Navajo Department of Law Enforcement in Flagstaff, Arizona. The operation, which would later evolve into the Safe Trails Task Force (STTF) Program, unites FBI and other federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies in a collaborative effort to combat the growth of crime in Indian Country. STTFs allow participating agencies to combine limited resources and increase investigative coordination in Indian Country to target violent crime, drugs, gangs, and gaming violations.

Component(s):
USAO - Oregon