Jarret Haines

Introduction

Jarret Haines, 37, of Sells, Arizona, is an enrolled member of the Tohono O’odham Nation who was sentenced on August 25, 2026 to 57 months in federal prison — nearly five years — for assaulting a woman by strangulation. United States District Judge Jennifer Zipps imposed the sentence, to be followed by three years of supervised release, after Haines pleaded guilty to Assault by Strangulation. The conduct underlying the plea took place on the Tohono O’odham Nation on January 24, 2025, when Haines punched a woman multiple times in the face and then fastened a large zip tie around her neck until she lost consciousness; her son’s 911 call brought tribal police to the scene within minutes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced the sentence in an August 28, 2026 release.

Background Information

The case was prosecuted in federal court because the assault occurred on the Tohono O’odham Nation, where major crimes involving tribal members fall under federal jurisdiction. Haines is an enrolled member of the Nation, and the victim was assaulted in her own community near Sells, the Nation’s capital in southern Arizona. The investigation was conducted by the Tohono O’odham Police Department in conjunction with the FBI Phoenix Division’s Tucson office, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Micah Schmit. The release situates the case within the office’s broader work on intimate partner violence in Native communities, linking it to the annual Four Corners Conference on violence in Indian Country.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted and sentenced.

On January 24, 2025, Haines assaulted the victim by punching her multiple times in the face and then fastening a large zip tie around her neck until she lost consciousness. Strangulation of this kind — compression of the neck with a ligature — is among the strongest predictors of subsequent homicide in intimate partner violence, which is why federal law treats assault by strangulation as a distinct, aggravated form of assault. The attack ended only because of the intervention of the victim’s son, whose 911 call brought Tohono O’odham law enforcement to the scene promptly; the release does not state how long the zip tie was applied or what injuries the woman sustained beyond the loss of consciousness.

Haines was charged federally with Assault by Strangulation and pleaded guilty, admitting the January 2025 attack. On Tuesday, August 25, 2026 — three days before the office’s announcement — Judge Zipps sentenced him to 57 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. United States Attorney Timothy Courchaine tied the sentence to a wider commitment, stating that prosecutions such as this underscore the office’s dedication to working with partners to protect indigenous victims of intimate partner violence within Native communities. The release does not describe the relationship between Haines and the victim, whether he has prior convictions, or what restitution, if any, the court ordered.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The documented reaction comes from the prosecution itself: Courchaine’s statement casting the sentence as part of the office’s protection of indigenous victims of intimate partner violence, made as the annual Four Corners Conference convened in Glendale, Arizona. There is no statement from Haines or his attorney, no victim impact statement, and no community response in the release. The consequences are the conviction and the sentence: nearly five years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release during which Haines will be subject to federal supervision conditions in Arizona. The case also documents the speed of the response — a son’s 911 call, immediate tribal police intervention, an FBI-assisted investigation, and a guilty plea resolving the charge within nineteen months.

Current Status

Haines, 37, begins serving his 57-month sentence following the August 25, 2026 judgment in the District of Arizona, in case CR-25-01431-TUC-JGZ. The release does not state where he is in custody, whether he will appeal, or the terms of the supervised release that will follow his prison term. His conviction for Assault by Strangulation stands as a federal felony on his record. The release records no restitution figure and no additional charges arising from the January 2025 assault.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The sentence removes Haines from his community for nearly five years and places him under federal supervision for three more — the documented cost of an assault that ended with a woman unconscious and a zip tie around her neck. His conviction record now includes a strangulation felony prosecuted in federal court, a category that courts and correctional systems treat as among the highest-risk domestic-violence offenses. The release describes nothing about his work, family, or life at Sells beyond his tribal enrollment, and the public record of the case begins and ends with the January 2025 attack, the son’s call, and the judge’s sentence.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, “Tohono O’odham Man Sentenced to Nearly 5 Years in Prison for Domestic Violence Assault by Strangulation”, August 28, 2026 — source