Man with decades-long history of domestic violence sentenced to 5 years for ‘vicious assault’
Aug 13, 2026, 8:30 AM | Updated: 8:43 am
U.S. Department of Justice, Western Washington. (MyNorthwest file photo)
(MyNorthwest file photo)
A Lummi Nation man with a decades-long history of domestic violence was sentenced to five years in federal prison for strangling his former partner, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington.
The man, 49-year-old Marc Cagey Oreiro, will also serve three years of federal supervised release following his prison term.
Oreiro pleaded guilty on June 6, 2026, to the “vicious assault,” which took place on the Lummi Nation Indian Reservation. In addition to the prison sentence and supervision, U.S. District Judge Lauren King ordered Oreiro to pay a $50,000 fine for what federal prosecutors described as an above-guidelines sentence intended to stop “an escalating pattern of abuse.”
Court documents show the assault occurred on May 23, 2025, at a home on the reservation. According to court documents, Oreiro pushed the woman onto a bed and choked her with his hands and forearm, interfering with her ability to breathe. He punched her in the head, back, stomach, side, and ear, struck her in the ribs with his knee, and knelt on her chest while repeatedly threatening to kill her. The victim later disclosed that Oreiro attempted to sexually assault her after the physical attack.
Lummi Police officers responded to the home after a housemate called authorities. Officers found Oreiro inside, where he physically fought with police during a search. Officers found the victim crying in a bedroom closet where Oreiro had instructed her to hide. She was taken to a local hospital for medical treatment for bruising to her face, ears and neck.
“Mr. Oreiro had his first domestic violence conviction in 1995 when he was just 18 years old,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Floyd. “His incidents of domestic violence assault have worsened since then, but Mr. Oreiro has spent little time behind bars. This above-guidelines sentence, with three years of federal supervision to follow, is aimed at breaking the cycle of violence that has threatened those closest to this defendant.”
Oreiro previously received a tribal court conviction for assaulting the same victim. The victim informed law enforcement that Oreiro had assaulted her approximately 10 times previously without those incidents being reported. In court filings seeking the five-year term, prosecutors noted that victims of non-fatal strangulation face an eightfold increase in the risk of subsequent homicide by the same abusive partner. Prosecutors also stated that Oreiro has repeatedly flouted court-ordered no-contact directives.
During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge King addressed Oreiro directly regarding the danger of his actions. “Non-fatal strangulation is among the most dangerous of domestic assaults. This is about as serious as it gets… You continue to treat your intimate partners or former intimate partners as your property, as if you had the right to control them and use deadly force against them,” King said. King also praised the victim’s bravery, noting that her reporting may have protected other women from future harm. “Based upon Mr. Oreiro’s history, it is unlikely this pattern of violence would have stopped without intervention from the justice system,” King added.
The case was originally filed in tribal court before moving to federal jurisdiction following an FBI investigation. A grand jury returned an indictment on June 25, 2025. Oreiro has been held at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac since his federal arrest on June 4, 2025.
Restitution will be determined at a later date, according to court documents.
