TACOMA — An enrolled member of the Makah Tribe has been sentenced in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 16 months in prison after authorities said he threatened three boys with a machete and led police on a high-speed chase.
Nicolas Joseph James Johnson, 33, was sentenced on Monday. He had pleaded guilty to robbery in March, according to U.S. Attorney Nick Brown in a press release.
According to records filed in the case, on the evening of Sept. 18, Johnson carjacked a vehicle from outside the Mini-Market on Bay View Avenue in Neah Bay.
There were three brothers in the car, ages 16, 12 and 10.
Johnson used a machete to threaten the boys and ordered them out of the car, and after the boys got out, he sped off and led police on a high-speed chase, authorities said.
During sentencing, U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle noted the trauma suffered by the three young boys.
Johnson has two prior convictions in state court related to stolen vehicles. He had just terminated supervision on the state convictions when he committed this crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.
The case was investigated by the Neah Bay Police Department and the FBI. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney J. Tate London.
London serves as Tribal Liaison for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
