LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An enrolled member of the Ely Shoshone Tribe was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he caused the death of a 3-year-old girl, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release Thursday.
Colon Jackson, 31, pleaded guilty in Dec. 2022 to one count of voluntary manslaughter.
According to court documents, on Jan. 9, 2019, on the Ely Shoshone Indian Reservation, a mother picked her 3-year-old up from daycare and took her home so Jackson could take care of her while she was at work.
While the 3-year-old was in Jackson’s care, he shook and threw her body, court records showed.
Jackson then called the girl’s mother to tell her that the 3-year-old was unconscious. The mother came home and took the girl to the emergency room. According to court records, the child was flown from Ely to Salt Lake City, Utah where she died from her injuries.
“The defendant’s senseless act resulted in the death of a child,” United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada said. “Today’s sentence sends a clear message that the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are working steadfast to seek justice for victims. In collaboration with state, local, Tribal, and federal law enforcement partners, we are committed to investigating reports of missing and murdered Indigenous people, also prioritizing the disproportionately high rates of violence against women and girls.”
Jackson was sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, the maximum sentence, for the voluntary manslaughter of a 3-year-old girl.
