Merchant Seaman Sentenced in Federal Court for Assault on the High Seas

The United States Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Louisiana has issued the following press release:

Jim Letten, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, James Bernazzani, Special Agent In Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Admiral Joel Whitehead, United States Coast Guard, announced that on September 27, 2006, former vessel cook ISREAL CALDWELL, age 46, was sentenced to ninety (90) months of imprisonment by United States District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt for assault causing serious bodily injury within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 113(a)(6).

CALDWELL was also sentenced to a term of three (3) years of supervised release and a fine of $56,175.00.

In this case, the evidence demonstrated that while on the high seas, CALDWELL, a cook onboard a vessel in the Gulf of Mexico, stabbed the victim with a knife following a verbal altercation which involved criticism of the ship's food. According to testimony, CALDWELL approached the victim in anger and, following an escalation of the argument, stabbed the victim causing him to sustain serious bodily injury. The victim had to be medically evacuated via U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter and undergo emergency surgery.

CALDWELL was found guilty by a federal jury on July 11, 2006. The case was also presided by United States District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt. Jim Letten praised the rapid response of the U. S. Coast Guard to medically evacuate the victim and those who provided medical aid to the victim. If not for their actions, Letten said, the victim was in risk of dying.

This matter was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Coast Guard. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Juan M. Masini and Theodore Carter.